Last season at Klöckner Stadium ended much like it started for the Virginia men's lacrosse team. The Cavaliers opened the home season with a close loss to Drexel and ended it by getting knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round against Delaware. This season has already begun more smoothly for the Cavaliers as they defeated Drexel 11-7 last weekend in Philadelphia. No. 3 Virginia now looks to continue its auspicious start as it takes on Stony Brook Saturday at Klöckner.
"I think that there were a number of things that we liked about the [Drexel] game," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "We shot the ball better than we have at any point in the preseason against a very good goalie. I thought we got better as the game went on."
The Drexel game answered some questions as to who would fill holes created by injured and graduated players. Senior Ben Rubeor was out with a knee injury and was the team's leading shooter last season. Sophomore Brian Carroll and senior Peter Lamade stepped up to fill his void. Carroll had a career high of three goals and an assist while Lamade had two goals and an assist. This was Lamade's Cavalier debut after transferring from Duke.
"It was definitely a little weird putting on orange for the first time," Lamade said. "I have also never played attack before ... but towards the end of the game I got a lot more comfortable and seemed to mesh with Garrett [Billings] and Danny [Glading] well."
Senior midfielder Will Barrow is also expected to be a presence on the field in upcoming games. As a team veteran and newly elected captain, Barrow will bring experience and leadership to the field after having played almost every game since his freshman season.
Another question was how Virginia's defense would fair after the loss of graduated members and All-Americans goalie Kip Turner and defender Ricky Smith. Turner's shoes were filled by freshman Adam Ghitelman, who proved his abilities by posting 10 saves, the third-most in team history by a freshman in his career start.The defense improved as the game progressed and only allowed two goals in the second half. Sophomore Ken Clausen gave the Cavaliers three turnovers and junior Matt Kelly and senior Tim Shaw led Virginia with a combined total of nine ground balls.
"We had some new faces in on defense, especially with Ghitelman in the goal." Clausen said. "I think it was a good game to get behind us. We had to make some adjustments in the first half. We can definitely get better, but we are confident and eager to see what we can do. We would love to put a defensive name on Virginia lacrosse for the first time in a while."
This weekend the team looks to continue its momentum against Stony Brook. Virginia will be Stony Brook's first opponent this season, but last year Stony Brook posted an 8-5 record. The Seawolves have many returning players, including five of their top seven scorers. Since Stony Brook has yet to play this season, Starsia is focusing on being prepared for whatever might occur during the game instead of the opponent.
"We know that they were a good team last year, and we know that we had to work to beat them last year," Clausen said. "We will focus on team defense and better communication ... I think we will be in a good position to win the game"
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