The Virginia men’s lacrosse team had a productive Spring Break: After defeating powerhouse and then-No. 1 Syracuse on the road 13-12 Feb. 27, the Cavaliers claimed the nation’s No. 1 ranking.
The Cavaliers (7-0) followed up the upset against the Orange with a 19-3 win four days later against the Virginia Military Institute. In that game, every Virginia player saw time on the field, as the offense opened up an insurmountable lead.
Virginia’s first real challenge in defending its new ranking came Sunday as it faced off against No. 4 Cornell (2-1) — the first time the two teams have met in 38 years. The two undefeated squads met in Klöckner Stadium in front of a crowd of more than 4,500 attendees. Although the Big Red managed to keep the game close well into the second half, the Cavaliers found their rhythm during an 8-1 run in the second period to win 14-10.
“I’d like to see us play well for 60 minutes,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said, “but it was especially satisfying for us to step up in the second half and get this win today.”
The Cavaliers’ shaky defensive play during the first half — especially during the second quarter — allowed Cornell to secure a 7-6 lead heading into the break.
“I thought the defense struggled early in the game,” Starsia said. “Cornell moves without the ball better than any team we’ve seen this year. They just got some cutting goals in the first half. We just didn’t have any urgency in front of the cage.”
Virginia also was hampered because several key players did not play at full strength. Senior defender Matt Kelly was coming off a groin injury that kept him out of practices leading up to the game, and sophomore midfielder Rhamel Bratton was unable to dress for Sunday’s game.
Shamel Bratton, however, made significant contributions to the victory. After scoring four goals against Syracuse, the midfielder managed another hat trick against the Big Red.
After the defense buckled down in the second half, Virginia held Cornell to just three more goals. Just like against Syracuse, the Cavaliers were up five goals with about five minutes left to play.
“I never really felt comfortable until I looked up at the clock at one point and there were about five minutes to play and we had a four or five goal lead,” Starsia said. “We were making every effort to just hold onto the ball there at the end and get the win here.”
Senior long-stick midfielder Mike Timms, who guarded Cornell’s star senior midfielder Max Seibald, helped out on the defensive end.
“Mike Timms has frankly been our MVP since the beginning of the year,” Starsia said. “He’s just playing his best lacrosse since he’s been here. We take our cue from him. He’s our hardest worker, he’s a nice kid, he just does everything right.”
The Cavaliers must now prepare for their next game, Tuesday against Vermont.
“We are getting into the meat of our schedule,” junior midfielder Brian Carroll said. “We’ve been playing a little more games that normal recently, but I think our team likes it. I think to get better, you have to play games, so I think playing a lot of games is a good thing.”
The Cavaliers have stepped up their level of play since securing the country’s No. 1 ranking, Starsia said.
“I was more impressed with us today than I was on Friday up at the [Carrier] Dome,” Starsia said. “This is a gut-check win for us. This a good team; we had a week to prepare for this. We were a little tired, and I give our kids a lot of credit for working hard and taking control of this game in the second half.”
Editor’s Note: To read The Cavalier Daily’s recap of Virginia’s win against Syracuse, visit http://www.cavalierdaily.com/news/sports/mens-lacrosse/.
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