Virginia feeling low in Rockies
Cavaliers fall to Denver, finish 0-2 in Colorado
By Joey Mancini / Special to The Daily Progress
March 1, 2004

DENVER - Snow flurries began to fall within ten minutes of game time at the University of Denver, as the hometown Pioneers prepared to compete against Virginia in the final game of the 2004 Pioneer Face-Off Classic.

The Cavaliers, after a loss on Saturday versus Air Force, returned to the field almost as inconsistent as the day before and were defeated for the second time in two days, 9-7. The loss to Denver, however, was far less important than an injury which occurred in the fourth quarter of the contest.

With 11:28 on the clock, Virginia defenseman Brett Hughes struck facemasks head-on with Pioneer midfielder Jeff Biggs and collapsed on the turf near the Cavalier goal. Just a few seconds later, the referees called timeout as medical personnel from both teams ran out to help the senior All-American.

As the crowd noise quieted to a lull, a defibrillator was brought from the Virginia sideline and Hughes’s teammates gathered at midfield for a prayer and team meeting. For over twenty minutes, all that could be heard from Pioneer Field was the crisp flapping of flags around the stadium and the sirens of emergency vehicles in the distance. Hughes could be seen moving both his arms and legs as he lay on the turf, but was lifted onto a stretcher to be taken to the hospital. As he departed, the crowd cheered in respect and the remainder of the Virginia team sprinted over to support their captain. As play resumed, the Cavaliers were trailing Denver, 7-5.

In the remnants of the final quarter of play, Virginia did score two goals - the first an unassisted goal from attackman John Christmas immediately after play resumed - but Denver kept pace with a pair of scores of their own. However, after the injury, Virginia showed an intensity that had not yet been seen during their trip to the Rocky Mountains.

During the first half, the Cavaliers looked surprisingly inconsistent, having difficulty even with pass-and-catch fundamentals. On the face-off in the first 30 minutes, Denver won 7 of 9 attempts, and continued to win 14 of 20 in the game. While the defense did improve on their performance Saturday, the offense struggled to establish a rhythm and after one half of play, the Pioneers led the contest, 5-2.

“I thought again that we really worked hard,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “But we’re not sharp enough, we’re not good enough right this minute. We just have to keep working on it. They’re a good group, they’re good kids, and like I said, the effort was there. We just have to clean things up.”

Returning from the locker room after halftime, despite screams of intensity, the Virginia defense allowed two goals in the first three minutes. The second goal came from Denver attackman Adam Miller on a high rebound that was unseen by Cavalier goalie Tillman Johnson while the Pioneers were playing one man down from a personal foul. With the Denver lead at 7-2 just minutes after halftime, Virginia found itself in a hole from which it would never recover.

“We’re a good team, and they’re a good team, and the guys played with poise,” Denver coach Jamie Munro said. “I think that it was a great upset and a great opportunity for us.”

Junior midfielder Scott Davidson had three goals and one assist for Denver, with fellow midfielder Geoff Snider ending the game with two goals and one assist. Denver’s best player on the afternoon, however, was junior goalie Brian Sanders, who finished with 17 saves.

“Brian was key for us in the cage,” senior defenseman Nathan Jones said. “I think Virginia was tired from yesterday, and I don’t think that they were really prepared for what they were coming out here to face.”

For Virginia, John Christmas played one of his best games so far with three goals and one assist while Johnson finished with 14 saves.

The Cavaliers completed their stint in Denver at the 2004 Pioneer Face-Off Classic with two losses and several resulting questions loomed for Virginia as the team heads into back-to-back matches against powerhouses Syra-cuse and Princeton.

The midfielders continue to find a place for themselves in an offense which is attempting to replace three starters from last year at that position.

On both sides of the ball, the Cavaliers have struggled to perform even simple fundamentals, failing to clear the ball, pick up groundballs, and even pass-and-catch.
 

Volunteering his services
Already known for his off-court charitable acts, Todd Billet's late-game contributions are resulting in victories for Virginia.
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Until the last three weeks, if there was going to be a legacy from Todd Billet's three years at Virginia, it was going to come from his off-the-court work.

Billet had been a starter and contributor for the men's basketball team, but what had really stood out was the bone-marrow drive to which he had lent his name and given his time.

On the afternoon of his final regular-season home game Tuesday, Billet and several of his teammates will be among a group soliciting registration for bone-marrow donors, especially much-needed minority donors.

In light of recent on-court developments, the timing couldn't have been any better.

"Yeah, that was my plan all along," said Billet, who hit winning 3-pointers in three games over an 11-day span. "People might start to listen now, right?"

There's no telling what kind of reception Billet might have gotten in early February.

"The low point was when I turned the ball over at the end of the Maryland game," said Billet, the victim of a D.J. Strawberry steal with 11 seconds left and UVa trailing 69-67 in a game it would lose 71-67.

"After that, I just regrouped mentally and refocused and realized, 'I'm a much better player than what I'm playing. I can give a lot more to the team.' That definitely was a difficult stretch."

His turnaround was not immediate. Billet had three points against the Terrapins, his fourth game in a single-digit scoring streak that would reach eight games before a 21-point effort Feb.21 at Clemson.

By then, he already had hit the winning 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining to beat 15th-ranked Georgia Tech 82-80, and his 3-pointer with 16 seconds left gave UVa a 56-55 lead against the Tigers.

"Just to be in position to take the shot is rare," said Billet, a 6-foot guard. "Then, to make the shot is rarer still. Those are the things you dream about as a little kid, but they don't always happen. The cards have to be dealt just right."

A question about the clock postponed the Cavaliers' celebration after Billet's go-ahead 3-pointer Tuesday against North Carolina, but what happened next will only add to Billet's memories.

"People were out on the court and I was out there for at least a couple of minutes," Billet said. "When I finally broke out of the pile, coach [Roy] Williams is standing there and looking at me. I thought they would have run off the court, but he came up to me and said he was waiting to congratulate me.

"I was just blown away because I was just trying to think of a coach who would have stayed around like that, after losing a tough game on the road and congratulating the guy who hit the shot to beat them. I just spoke to him briefly when we played down at North Carolina, but he just seems like an extremely classy guy."

Billet finished with 12 points, only four in the final 34 minutes, but he had six assists and just two turnovers. That followed a five-assist, one-turnover outing against Clemson and it's worth noting that his 77-to-36 assist-turnover ratio (2.1-to-1) is by far the best of his career.

When the Cavaliers went to freshman T.J. Bannister as their starting point guard Feb.11, it was because Billet, who led the ACC last year in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage, wasn't getting any shots.

"You have to be very selective as a point guard, looking for shots," Billet said. "When you're on the wing, you're able to hunt down shots ."

By the Clemson game, Billet's scoring average had dropped to 9.5. He averaged in double figures in each of his first three seasons, with a career-high 16.6 in his second of two years at Rutgers.

Billet had hoped that a move to Virginia might bring an NCAA tournament appearance, but the Cavaliers haven't played in the NCAAs since 2001, the spring of Billet's second year at Rutgers .

"I think the first year after you transfer is the most difficult," said Billet, a Middletown, N.J., resident who played at the same high school, Christian Brothers Academy, as former UVa star John Crotty. "I went from a comfort level that was very high, being close to home, to a comfort level that was very low, not being close to home and not being able to play.

"That first year, I'd question myself, 'Why did I really do this again?' Rutgers is still a part of me, as well as Virginia. It wasn't like I stepped on campus here and a light bulb went off. It's a transition. My brother played there for four years, I went to all the home games, then I went there. I bled scarlet, as they said up there."

Billet started to bleed orange and blue when the Cavaliers went to Rutgers last year and he hit the winning free throws in front of a sign-waving, profanity-screaming Rutgers student section.

"Then it was like, 'Wow, I'm not really their guy anymore,'" Billet said.

Billet's departure from Rutgers followed the dismissal of coach Kevin Bannon, whose assistants included Billet's older brother, Geoff. Now, Billet finds himself in another situation where the coach, Pete Gillen, finds his tenure in jeopardy.

"Like I've said before, I have 100-percent support for Coach Gillen," Billet said. "First and foremost, he's a great person, and secondly, he's the hardest-working coach I've been around. I really think he deserves the chance to be here.

"If these games in the past two weeks have contributed to him staying here, then that's just extra gratitude on my part."

 

No. 1 Cavs shocked by Denver, Air Force
Virginia, loses to unranked foe for first time in 17 years, Hughes knocked unconscious
Joey Mancini
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

DENVER, Colo. -- The view toward the horizon was of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, which appeared to be a better locale for the Winter Olympics than for lacrosse, a sport of the eastern seaboard.

After being upset twice in just over 24 hours, the message sent to No. 1 Virginia was loud and clear: Lacrosse in the Midwest is here to stay. The defending champion Cavaliers fell to No. 23 Denver yesterday, 9-7, and unranked Air Force Saturday, 7-6.

Saturday's defeat marked the first time Virginia had scored fewer than seven goals since April 7, 2001, and their first loss to an unranked team since April 11, 1987.

In addition to the extra tally in the loss column, Virginia suffered a defeat of even greater magnitude -- a severe injury to All-American defenseman Brett Hughes.

Hughes collapsed on the field after a facemask-to-facemask collision with Pioneer midfielder Jeff Biggs. As Hughes lay on the turf, a defibrillator was brought from the Virginia sideline while emergency personnel rushed to the field. For more than 20 minutes, the crowd remained silent as the remainder of the Cavaliers gathered at midfield for a team prayer and meeting. Hughes -- who has never missed a start at Virginia -- was seen moving his legs and fingers, but was carried off the field on a stretcher as the crowd respectfully cheered. When he departed, his teammates ran over to show support for their captain and fallen comrade.

"He's a wonderful kid, and when something like that happens, that is just unsettling for everybody," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "He's a leader, and to lose one in the middle of the defense like that obviously hurt us."

Throughout the contest against Air Force, both teams appeared stagnant on offense and defense. Despite impressive play from Cavalier attackman Matt Ward, who led all scorers with three goals and one assist, Air Force exploded for a scoring run of four consecutive goals in the third quarter to catapult back into the game, a lead which they would never relinquish.

"We tried to prepare to play their best guys," Air Force coach Fred Acee said. "I think that the guys focused on that, and they did a nice job."

Sunday against the Denver Pioneers, Virginia was defeated 9-7 for their second loss in two days and was again remarkably inconsistent.

The star for Denver Sunday afternoon was goalie Brian Sanders, who finished with 17 saves, including four crucial stops in a three-minute period near the end of the fourth quarter. In addition, midfielder Scott Davidson had three goals and one assist to lead the Pioneer offense.

For Virginia, the brightest spot in a struggling offense was junior attackman John Christmas, who compiled three goals and one assist, including an impressive unassisted goal immediately after the resumption of play following Hughes's injury. Fellow attackman Matt Ward added three points for the Cavaliers -- one goal and two assists -- on eight shots. The Cavalier offense, however, was plagued with 18 of the team's 21 turnovers. Virginia also had four penalties for a total of three minutes in the box.

The Cavaliers departed the light air of the mountains with an overall record of 0-2 -- a particularly disappointing exploration of western talent. Virginia's vulnerability against both Denver and Air Force was a constant reminder that as the national champions, you are circled on every opponent's schedule. Virginia was able to improve each week to climax in the NCAA tournament, but this year is vastly different -- word has spread of this year's Cavalier talent, and every game is a test to once again prove their potential.