The good news is that I made it out of Giants Stadium alive and still wearing my Redskins sweatshirt. The bad news is that the Redskins are still ... bad.
Some other good news is that Virginia maintained its undefeated record after facing North Carolina during the weekend at Giants Stadium in the inaugural Big City Classic. I have to say it was a fun trip — I even got to play “teams-the-Virginia-men’s-lacrosse-team-has-beaten” bingo while driving through Maryland. My fellow reporter won that bit with three points: Maryland, Hopkins and Towson, most likely because I was sleeping at the time. Who wants to see Maryland anyway?
Now North Carolina can be added to that ever-growing list after the 11-10 result. The Virginia men’s lacrosse team is good — very good. The Cavaliers have held the undisputed No. 1 ranking for five weeks. And they deserve it. Virginia has taken down Syracuse, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Maryland and now North Carolina — not to mention a rag-tag salmagundi of other opponents — all of which were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match-ups.
As a fan and a sportswriter, I have little to complain about. Virginia’s so-far undefeated season has been fun just because the Cavs have yet to add a tally to the loss column — undefeated seasons are always thrilling — and because it has been filled with heavy doses of both drama and excitement. Drama — like Virginia holding off an explosive then-No. 1 Syracuse comeback in the fourth quarter to defeat the Orange by one goal in the Carrier Dome. Excitement — like the last two frenetic minutes against Hopkins at Homewood Field when Virginia held onto a one-goal lead. And, of course, there was that seven-overtime, one-goal Virginia victory at Klöckner against Maryland — that was pretty exciting, too.
When a team sets its goal as high as winning a national championship, though, as Virginia has, it needs to constantly improve and fine-tune its game going into the postseason. That being said, I’ve noticed a few ways Virginia could improve. I don’t want to seem like a stereotypically jaded and pessimistic sportswriter, but as Virginia carves a path through its tough season leaving destruction in its wake, I can’t help but be reminded of the 2007-08 Patriots. Both the Pats and Cavs, in the midst of potentially historic seasons and possibly on their way to be one of the best teams to ever play the game, seemed immune to criticism. The Cavaliers will now look to do what the Patriots couldn’t and finish the historic season with a bang. If the Cavaliers make these tweaks, they might avoid the curse of being almost perfect.
In my humble opinion, here is what the team has to do:
1. Step up the defense.
This is an absurdly general suggestion to make, I know. It’s something every team should strive to do. But in Virginia’s case, there is really no excuse why its defense has broken down like it has pretty regularly in important games throughout the season. Several Cavalier defenders, close defense and midfielders alike, are regarded individually as some of the most athletic and talented players in the country. They have shined in many one-on-one situations.
As a unit, however, the Cavs have shown a tendency to be caught sleeping on the crease or sliding late in help defense situations.
Though lacrosse is a sport in which quick offensive bursts are common, the Cavalier defense needs to be able to slow down such runs by their opponents. If they find themselves up five on Syracuse with five minutes left, the defense needs to be able to lock down on the Orange. As high-powered as the ‘Cuse offense is, a championship defense should be able to hold a team off well enough that it isn’t even a close game.
If Virginia builds a 12-6 lead against Hopkins, that lead shouldn’t dissolve in just longer than a quarter.
The cliché is that defense wins championships, and so defense is the first thing the Cavaliers need to strengthen heading into the postseason.
2. Reduce penalties.
Credit the Virginia man-down defense for its ability to limit opponents’ extra-man offenses in several penalty situations. Banking on that, however, is not a viable option for trying to win close games.
In games this season that have finished with scoring margins of four or less, Virginia has out-penalized its opponents 18-9. Although the Cavalier man-down defense has held opponents’ extra-man offenses to only five scores, that’s still a large number compared to the two goals Virginia has scored on penalties. This discrepancy could be fixed if the Cavaliers can find a way to limit their penalties. In a close game, it could mean the difference.
3. Play smart offense for an entire 60 minutes.
Virginia has shown an extremely effective ability to milk long possessions and finish them with a high percentage of successful shots. Possessions like those allow Virginia to score in a controlled and methodical manner, which works a much higher percentage of the time than a rushed offense can. Additionally, it is a defensive strategy because it limits the number of possessions opponents have.
This trait of the Virginia offense, however, has been a bit inconsistent. Virginia would have more quality wins and fewer squeakers if quality possessions were emphasized throughout the game.
Against North Carolina during the weekend, for example, the Cavaliers dug themselves into a 7-3 hole caused for the most part by rushed possessions. Only when Virginia started to take its time did it quickly climb back into the game.
“I thought offensively ... from about five minutes into the game until we started to get going I just thought we were either just rushing offensive opportunities or settling for shots,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. Sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton “has an uncanny ability to get to the front of the cage. And the quality of the shots he was scoring on [was impressive].”
4. Shamel Bratton needs a right hand.
Let me preface anything I say about Bratton’s game by saying he is an incredible lacrosse player. Right now he is only a sophomore and is already well on his way to being an All-American. It is my contention that by the time he is a senior, he will be the best lacrosse player in the NCAA — no pressure if you are reading this, Shamel. Currently, he is tied for third on the team in goals even though he missed a game. He draws the defensive, long stick midfielder every time he is on offense, and he still manages to completely dominate for stretches of games.
As unguardable as he currently is, however, he still strongly favors his left hand and therefore gives defenders the slight edge of knowing what side he’ll shoot from. Because he is as fast and athletic as he is, he can still find space for a lefty shot, but it’s not always there if a defender is playing Bratton smartly. With the ability to go righty or lefty, Shamel would be nigh unstoppable. Something like this can also be relatively easily improved. Developing a weak hand doesn’t require natural-born strength or athleticism, but instead develops from practice and repetition. Bratton just needs to get a bucket of balls and take 500 shots a day, and it will come.
Again, I’d like to emphasize that I still think Virginia is the best team in the country right now. But lacrosse playoffs are unforgiving. In the one-and-done setup of the postseason, it only takes one off day for a team — however great — to lose its chance at winning a title. As many close games as the Cavaliers have had, they are no doubt staring over the edge of the cliff as playoff time approaches. Improving these aspects of their game could go a long way to ensuring complete dominance. To win a national championship, Virginia can’t just be the best overall team of the year — it has to be the best team every minute of every game. When the confetti dropped on the championship-winning Giants at the end of Super Bowl XLII, the Patriots’ perfect regular-season record was just a small consolation prize.
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