The Virginia men's lacrosse team not only went head-to-head with Johns Hopkins Saturday on the Blue Jays' home turf, but defeated them 7-5.
"I am really proud of our team," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "It's been a defining characteristic so far that we have played hard in every instance. This is one of those wins that holds up when you are looking at teams at the end of the season."
Hopkins' only lead of the game came early in the first quarter when senior Jake Byrne scored in the fourth minute. It was short-lived, however, because less than 30 seconds later, sophomore Danny Glading answered to even the game at 1-1. That goal marked the beginning of a 4-1 run that allowed Virginia (7-1) to pull ahead early on.
After a slashing call on Hopkins (4-2), Glading took advantage of the extra man opportunity and scored once again. Shortly thereafter, a pass junior Ben Rubeor intended for sophomore Steve Giannone found the back of the net, and the Cavaliers were up by two. Rubeor then tallied his second goal of the game, and 28th of the season, with the over-the-shoulder shot any Virginia fan would recognize.
"We were lucky enough to get out to an early lead," Rubeor said. "Once we got that lead, we worked for the quality shot and I thought that [Hopkins senior goalie Jesse] Schwartzman made some very good saves that prevented us from extending the lead."
Both offenses were held at bay for most of the second quarter. Hopkins junior Paul Rabil managed to score and bring the Blue Jays within two, but big plays from Virginia's defense and midfield quickly swung the momentum back in the Cavaliers' favor. With only 1:25 left in the half, Virginia senior goalkeeper Kip Turner came up with a huge save that the midfielders then turned into a fast break opportunity. With four Cavaliers pitted against three Blue Jays, junior Will Barrow had what was arguably the most dramatic goal of the game.
"Will Barrow may have been our MVP," Starsia said after the game. "He was terrific today. He has just gotten back, he's just gotten healthy again and just back to our team."
Also back in the midfield for Virginia Saturday was redshirt freshman Max Pomper, who saw his first real minutes since suffering an Achilles heel injury during the first part of the 2006 season.
"As we get guys back we have been trying to mix and match the pieces," Starsia said. "With guys like Will and Max starting to get healthy, that's one of the ways we are going to continue to improve over the course of the season."
Despite these players' return, the team demonstrated there is still room for improvement. The second half was characterized by sloppy play at both ends of the field with poor passes and balls thrown too far or too high. Yet Virginia continued to dominate possession. Freshman Brian Carroll scored for the first time in five games and Rubeor tallied his third goal of the afternoon to make it 7-2.
In the fourth, Hopkins made a run at the Cavaliers but ultimately could not surmount the five-goal deficit. Virginia's defense held the Blue Jays -- who had scored 17 goals in the week before against Syracuse -- to only five.
"The key to this game was that we were able to control the individual match-ups on defense," Starsia said. "Also, Kip [Turner] never gets quite enough credit for how good he has been for us. I certainly thought you were looking at two of the best goalies in the country out there today."
The win at Homewood Field marks Virginia's seventh in a row. It is currently the longest winning streak in the nation and one the Cavaliers will look to extend when they face their first ACC opponent, Maryland, this weekend.
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