The Virginia men's lacrosse team will look to extend its four-game winning streak tonight against Mount Saint Mary's.
"This game's another day in which we have the opportunity to get a little bit better," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "We need to use every day as a building block and so it is another important game for us."
The Cavaliers head into tonight's contest 4-1 overall. Bouncing back from their season-opening loss to Drexel, Virginia defeated Stony Brook and during Spring Break, knocked down Syracuse, VMI and Princeton.
The Cavaliers posted their 11-8 win over the Syracuse Orangemen in front of an NCAA record 20,180 fans at the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic in Baltimore, Md. The following Monday, they promptly defeated VMI 20-0. After Virginia scored seven goals in the opening six minutes, all 37 available players saw time on the field against the Keydets.
The Cavaliers concluded their spring break series this past Saturday against Princeton. Before face off, the Cavalier's 2006 National Championship Flag was raised at Klöckner Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,143 and several members of the 2006 senior class.
The Princeton Tigers took an early lead with two quick goals in the opening five minutes, but junior attackman Ben Rubeor ended the unanswered run shortly thereafter with an unassisted goal. Sophomore Garrett Billings then tied it up in the 11th minute, but Princeton managed to score once more to close out the first quarter with a 3-2 lead.
Princeton continued its assault on the Cavalier net with a quick goal in the opening minute of the second quarter. On a fast break, the efforts of junior Will Barrow, who only recently returned to the field from the injured list, kept the Cavaliers within one. By halftime, Billings had scored the tying goal and the teams entered the locker room five-all.
Momentum shifted early in the third quarter as junior Jack Riley's goal gave Virginia its first lead of the game and Cavalier pressure forced Princeton to turn over the ball unnecessarily. Nevertheless, the Tigers held Virginia to that one goal and the third quarter ended 6-5 in favor of the Cavaliers.
With eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Princeton evened the score six-all. The Tigers then launched a full assault on the Cavalier net, but senior goalkeeper Kip Turner denied shot after shot and thus denied Princeton the lead.
"The defense, and especially Kip, played fantastic," Rubeor said. "I think it could be the best I have seen Kip play. I have seen him have some more saves but about six of the ones he made today were just amazing -- really spectacular."
With the game still tied, the Cavaliers called timeout with 32 seconds on the clock. On the restart, a pick by sophomore Danny Gladding gave Rubeor a clear shot opportunity and the sure-fire attackman scored the game winner.
"I was shocked that he was that open," Starsia said. "Frankly, I felt a little like the 2005 semi-final, 'Oh my God he scored too early.' But we will take it. It was exactly what we drew up and worked a little better than anyone would have imagined."
Defeating two quality programs -- Syracuse and Princeton -- in the same week has certainly added to the Cavaliers' confidence. Nevertheless, after the game, players and coaches alike emphasized the need for continued improvement as the season progresses.
"I think we are improving each week and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't keep doing more of the same," Rubeor said. "I think we have played some different style teams so we have been able to take that and kind of change our play and adapt to what we face. We are really learning from each game."
Virginia is scheduled to face-off at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Klöckner.
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