No. 4 Virginia men’s lacrosse was not hindered by the cold and windy conditions Saturday in its first contest of the 2025 campaign. The Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) crushed Colgate (0-2, 0-0 Patriot) 19-9 at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia’s new-look offense was the star of the show.
Junior attacker Truitt Sunderland was at his best, racking up six goals and three assists. Coach Lars Tiffany loved what he saw from the junior.
“That guy flies around looking for space, and what an intensity,” Tiffany said. “We recruited him more as a dodger, but we're recognizing that he's a heck of a finisher. So all of his team has to realize is, if you want to get an assist, look for number three.”
Sunderland’s combination play with fellow attackers sophomore McCabe Millon and freshman Ryan Colsey — as well as the midfielders — was a treat to witness for spectators at Klöckner. Sunderland emphasized his pleasure with the new partnership.
“It's great,” Sunderland said. “I just can't speak enough about how awesome [Millon and Colsey] are to make everyone on the field better. No one cares who's getting the points or the glory. As long as the ball gets in the back of the net, we’ve got six guys on the field that are really happy.”
It was not all an attacking razzle-dazzle, though. The Cavaliers went all out as always for every ground ball and half-chance. Tiffany highlighted the boost the exceptional effort gave the team.
“I'm ecstatic with the intensity and the ferocity that we approached the loose ball out there,” Tiffany said. “It was 56 ground balls, and gosh, I just, I love the way we approached this game, the spirit of the game that we learned from the Native Americans, and we certainly emulated that today.”
On the defensive side, senior defender Ben Wayer was a force to be reckoned with. In addition to being a crucial part of Virginia’s clear, he added two scores to the tally — one via a full-court heave.
Furthermore, the Cavaliers’ well-executed ride made life difficult for the Raiders. The intensity never slowed on the defensive end, and everyone did their part. Tiffany underscored the importance of the ride.
“I was really happy to ride in the first half,” Tiffany said. “All the extra possessions we got back, especially in our first quarter, to get those extra shots, and start scoring the goals we did.”
Virginia ended the first quarter up by a slim 5-3 margin, but separate runs of three and four unanswered goals put the contest firmly in the Cavaliers’ grasp. Once they were up, they never looked back.
With new faces in big roles this season, Virginia benefited greatly from the commanding victory. As the season ramps up, the Cavaliers will hope to keep developing these new relationships on both sides of the ball — and things are looking bright so far.
Virginia will look to keep to its winning ways when it hosts Richmond at Klöckner Stadium Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
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