PHILADELPHIA, May 28 -- With less than a minute left in regulation and the game tied at seven, the tension in Philadelphia was thicker than steam rising off a fresh cheesesteak. It was the second game of the NCAA semifinals, and the Cavaliers were using their final timeout to craft a play that would make or break the season.
In such desperate times, it seemed only natural that Virginia would turn to its most reliable attackman, junior Matt Ward. Driving through two defenders, Ward miraculously held onto the ball and fired a laser past the Johns Hopkins goalie and into the back of the net -- leaving only 12 seconds left on the clock. The crowd went wild, Ward leapt into the arms of his teammates, and Virginia appeared to have finally toppled the undefeated Blue Jays. But the game was far from over.
In the final seconds, Hopkins sophomore Jake Byrne managed to rush down the field and sneak a shot between the legs of Cavalier goalie Kip Turner, forcing a shocked Virginia team into overtime.
"I thought [my goal] was the seal of the game right there, but Hopkins has some big time players who make some big time plays, and they came off of that faceoff and found the net," Ward said.
Sudden-death overtime in lacrosse is often decided by a combination of speed and luck, with each team putting shots on goal as quickly and often as possible. As the game headed into four extra minutes, this seemed to be the strategy for both teams.
The Cavaliers grabbed possession first, but were unable to find the net. After a successful clear, Hopkins drove down the field, only to be denied twice by Virginia sophomore goalie Kip Turner.
The third time proved to be the charm, however, as Hopkins senior Benson Erwin fired a shot off Turner's left side and into the goal. The Blue Jays rushed the field, the Cavaliers fell to their knees and one of the most exciting lacrosse games in years was finally over.
"I knew [Hopkins] was going to come down on that wing and take a shot on goal, but I guess I wasn't prepared for it," Turner said.
As the Cavaliers trudged towards the locker room amid the cheers and screams of the Blue Jays, the team seemed to be in disbelief that a trip to the national championship had been snatched away from them. Nonetheless, coach Dom Starsia emphasized that 2005 was far from a failure.
"We had shots to win it, they didn't go in, they made a couple shots to tie and eventually win, but those things happen," Starsia said. "I told the kids on the field afterwards that 2005 is a win for the University of Virginia. These seasons end a little abruptly when they end like this, but I'm really proud of our team throughout the year."
For a game with such a dramatic finish, the day started off very slowly for both teams. The first quarter of the game ended scoreless -- marking the first time that has ever happened in an NCAA semifinal. The situation wasn't much better at halftime, with Virginia trailing 2-1.
"I think everyone would agree that we looked really tight in the first half," Starsia said. "We were only down a goal or two at halftime and we hadn't really done anything, so we just talked about being patient and also trying to make something happen without the ball in your stick. We had a lot of guys standing around in the first half."
After falling behind by four goals midway through the second half, the Cavaliers got a jump-start from Mother Nature. By the end of the third quarter, Philadelphia's sunny skies had become cloudy as a thunderstorm approached, and a gusting wind was beginning to whip through Lincoln Financial Field. Within minutes, a heavy downpour soaked the field.
Rather than becoming distracted, the Cavaliers seized the opportunity to gain some momentum. Led by Ward, Virginia scored three unanswered goals to tie Hopkins 6-6.
Just before the referees halted the game because of lightning, Virginia's Matt Poskay scored to put the Cavaliers ahead 7-6. The team's momentum was at an all-time high as the field was cleared and fans scampered inside to avoid the rain.
"When that storm came, we started playing our best lacrosse," Ward said. "That wind got the crowd excited, it got us excited, and we started playing our lacrosse and moving the ball. You can kind of thank the storm for waking up our offense."
After a 47-minute delay, the Cavaliers took the field hoping to regain their pre-storm momentum. All that seemed to change within the first 10 seconds of play. Taking everyone by surprise, Blue Jay Kyle Harrison won the face-off, raced down the field and drilled a shot that tied the game, followed by Ward's score and Byrne's goal that sent the game to overtime.
Despite a disappointing ending to the 2005 season, there were some notable bright spots in Virginia's loss. Turner's 18 saves were the most of any goalie in either semifinal, and his clutch play in the third and fourth quarters allowed the Cavaliers to mount their comeback.
Ward was also up to the challenge against the Blue Jays. The attackman scored three of his four goals in the fourth quarter to keep the Cavaliers alive.
As they head back to Charlottesville and the long summer ahead, Virginia may find that this year's disappointment is a blessing in disguise. The team will only graduate two starters, attackman John Christmas and midfielder Rob Bateman, and will no doubt be a favorite to contend for the title next year. After giving younger players a taste of the national stage, the Cavaliers hope to book a return trip to Philadelphia in 2006.