The Virginia men's lacrosse team will look to go undefeated in conference play for the second consecutive season this weekend as it faces Duke Saturday in Durham, N.C.
The Cavaliers (10-1, 2-0 ACC) prevailed against what proved to be a tough North Carolina team 10-9 in overtime last weekend at Klöckner Stadium. The narrow victory kept the nation's longest winning streak alive for the Cavaliers.
There is much more on the line this weekend, however, than a winning streak. The winner of this weekend's matchup will be the ACC regular season champion and will consequently earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Like Virginia, the Blue Devils (9-2, 2-0 ACC) are undefeated in conference play and understand the importance of this game. This season is especially meaningful for Duke, as the Blue Devils are trying to prove themselves after having had their season cancelled last year because of a scandal involving sexual assault.
Duke proved its potential the last time the two teams met, beating the Cavaliers 17-2 in Durham in 2005. Virginia senior goalie Kip Turner was in the cage for that game and will look to redeem himself this weekend. The senior is coming off of a very strong performance in the win against North Carolina and was named ACC Player of the Week for his efforts.
"We are a little nervous. I am especially a little nervous because the last time we went there I kind of got shelled," Turner said. "Hopefully this time will be a different story, and I think that last time was kind of a fluke game and this time we know we need to bring our A-game to Durham."
The Cavaliers must play better offense than they did against the Blue Devils in 2005 if they want to stand a chance of winning. Virginia will look to junior attackman Ben Rubeor to lead the offense into battle and to create scoring opportunities. Rubeor is the nation's leading goal-scorer with 37 goals and also has the most points in the NCAA with 54.
Duke has some offensive firepower of its own. The duo of junior attackman Zack Greer and senior attackman Matt Danowski create a force to be reckoned with. Greer ranks just behind Rubeor with 34 goals and Danowski has 25 of his own this season.
Sophomore defenseman Matt Kelly is aware that he and his teammates will have to play hard to overcome Duke this weekend.
"They are a pretty talented offense," Kelly said. "They have a couple guys that really stand out and so we need to contain them and play well as a team -- not just the first half or second half, but the whole game all together."
Coach Dom Starsia knows Duke boasts a phenomenal defense as well, including four pre-season All-Americans. Starsia said the teams have much in common and predicted a low score for this weekend's contest.
"If you look at the two teams and the statistics of both teams, you see two teams that are very similar in a lot of ways," Starsia said. "We are going to have to play very well at both ends of the field in order to be successful. This will be the best game that we will have played over the course of the season. We are going to have our hands full going down to Durham."
Read More
Volleyball holds off Boston College in tight five-set win
By Lauren Halak | 6 hours agoSenior outside hitter Elayna Duprey led the team throughout the match with 22 points and 18 kills.
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | YesterdayThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
