By Andrew Tracey Cavalier Daily Staff Writer The Virginia men's lacrosse team will host the Bellarmine University Knights on Saturday in their last scheduled home game of the season. After the cancellation of last Saturday's much anticipated match against Duke, the undefeated Cavaliers enter this week's game with two weeks of rest.
Their last game was a 21-13 win over North Carolina on April 8. Although they have not had a game since then, the team has tried to capitalize on the late-season break, practicing hard in preparation for the fast approaching postseason.
"Last week we worked really hard in practice," senior Matt Ward said. "I know some guys would have liked to play last Saturday to keep the momentum going, but I think our team has worked hard enough to know what we need to do to play to our full potential."
Bellarmine is a small school in Lexington, Ky. with a very young lacrosse program. This is only the second season for the developing team, and just their first year playing a Division I schedule. However, the team has had a surprising amount of success against many tough opponents, managing to accumulate a respectable 6-7 record.This includes an impressive win over Binghamton earlier in the season, who was ranked 16th in the nation at the time. The Knights also enter Saturday's game on a three-game winning streak. Bellarmine has managed to recruit a relatively skilled group of players in the last two years that may provide some trouble for Virginia.
"They are mostly Canadian, so they have very skilled sticks and they are very talented offensively. We are going to have to outwork them on the field, because they are certainly very capable," said Ward.
Though they are unranked, this game is still of great significance to the Cavaliers, who are looking to continue an 11-game winning streak.
Virginia currently leads the country in scoring, averaging 15.5 goals per game, but they will be facing a strong goalkeeper in the net for Bellarmine. Along with a strong defense, the Knights' goalkeeper, J.C. Hutchins, has a .583 save percentage, which is good enough to put him at 14th in the nation. Despite being the heavily favored team, Virginia is making sure to take this game seriously.
"We aren't going to take any opponent lightly. We need to continue with what we've been doing," sophomore Ben Rubeor said.
This game will have particular significance for Virginia's 10 seniors, as it will be their last time playing before the home crowd at Klöckner Stadium. The remainder of the season consists of the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Virginia will be in Baltimore, Maryland next Friday for the semifinals of the ACC tournament, and Saturday's game will serve as a good way to see competition before the Cavaliers' expected postseason run.
"Hopefully we can end the seniors' final home game with a win," Ben Rubeor said.
The game will take place at 1:00 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.
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