DURHAM, N.C. — Chris Rotelli believes the best performances for the Viginia men’s lacrosse team are coming soon. Rotelli and Billy Galding each scored three goals Saturday and goalkeeper Tillman Johnson, as usual, anchored a strong defense to propel the sixth-ranked Cavaliers to an 11-8 victory at 12th-ranked Duke. “This is the grind-it-out part of the season,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “It is that time of the year that when you can get an ACC win on the road, you are pretty happy to have it.” Virginia’s victory created a three-way tie for first place in the ACC’s final regular-season standings. The Cavaliers, Maryland and North Carolina all finished 2-1 for league games. The seeding for the ACC Tournament, which starts Friday night at Klockner Stadium, will be determined Monday when ACC officials use a blind draw at the league office in Greensboro. Two things are sure: Duke (7-5, 0-3 ACC) will be the fourth seed as the two-time defending league champion, and UVa will play its semifinal duel Friday night at 8 p.m. “I don’t think we have played as well as we can,” said Rotelli after his back-to-back goals triggered a 5-1 Cavalier surge in the third quarter against Duke. “We are going to try to bring our best game into [next] weekend. We want to be ready to play well and play smart.” Although the Cavaliers (7-2) are near clinching the program’s 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, Glading said he and his teammates are not looking ahead. “Our focus is to win in the ACC,” Glading said. The Cavaliers stopped a three-game losing streak at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium, but Rotelli, Glading and Coach Dom Starsia said their team was not thinking about ending a jinx. “It wasn’t in our minds,” Rotelli said. “Each year is a new year. We don’t dwell in the past too much.” What Starsia dwelled on prior to Saturday’s opening faceoff was considering how Duke’s previous game might impact on his players’ motivation. The Blue Devils suffered their most-lopsided setback since 1994 when they lost 19-6 at top-ranked Johns Hopkins on April 5. “Duke’s score with Johns Hopkins did not help us,” Starsia said. “It made our life more difficult. That score was not indicative of the difference between the two teams. I thought our guys would see that and they would think we would have our way with Duke, and that is not the case. “I knew it would be a close hard-fought game.” Before a crowd of 1,348 on a sunny afternoon, Uva and Duke battled evenly for the first half. Matt Ward and Glading each scored in the first quarter and Kyle Dixon gave the Cavaliers a 3-2 edge at 9:31 of the second quarter. Ward’s second goal, following one of Joe Yevoli’s game-high three assists, gave Virginia a 4-3 advantage at halftime. Yevoli fed two of the first three goals to start the second half. In a three-minute span, Rotelli found the back of the net twice and Glading fired in a score. “I don’t think I took a shot [in the first half],” Rotelli said. “I wasn’t pressing … I felt we needed a little lift and I am always trying to provide that for the team.” A.J. Shannon converted an extra-man opportunity to give the Cavaliers an 8-3 margin with 4:29 to go in the third quarter. “We settled down and moved without the ball and buried our shots,” Glading said. After Starsia told his attackers to show more patience during his halftime talk, the Cavaliers scored on five of their next six shots against Duke senior goalkeeper A.J. Kincel, a former standout at St. Anne’s-Belfield from Palmyra. Rotelli added his 18th goal this season early in the fourth quarter and speedy sophomore John Christmas notched his team-high 20th goal with 2:16 to go on the clock. The Blue Devils tallied three of the game’s last four goals, but UVa defenders David Burman, Brett Hughes, Trey Whitty and Ned Bowen protected Johnson, who finished with 11 saves. “Tillman continues to play well,” Starsia said. “We expect that kind of performance from him all the time. … I thought we defended smartly for most of the game.” The Cavaliers won 13 of the 22 faceoffs and had a 41-37 edge for ground balls. Virginia went 15 for 15 on clears. Duke sophomore Matt Rewkowski scored three times to give him an ACC-high 29 goals.

With so much injury, illness and attrition on the offensive line, Virginia football coach Al Groh was happy to get an addition this weekend. Brad Butler, who had been out with mononucleosis, returned to practice Friday and has been cleared for the final week of spring drills. “It is important for his development that he be able to participate in these practices, so it is good that he is getting some in,” Groh said. “The fact that he was able to have 12 practices during the bowl practice period and these practices now are very important to him.” Butler, a 6-foot-8, 274-pound tackle from Lynchburg, played in 12 games as a true freshman last season and started at right tackle in the Continental Tire Bowl. He is projected as a starter next season. Two other projected starters, center Kevin Bailey and guard Brian Barthelmes, as well as part-time starters Mark Farrington and Zac Yarbrough, will miss the entire spring with injuries. Five more offensive linemen from last year’s team are gone. Starting right tackle Mike Mullins used up his eligibility. Joe Holt, Damian Spradlin and Brett Tobin, who had eligibility remaining, elected to leave the team. Ben Carber, a part-time starter last year, also decided not to return after Groh told him he might not see much action this season. That has left precious few bodies to man the line during practice the past two weeks. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and left guard Elton Brown have been the only two healthy starters. New strength coach Evan Marcus has snapped the ball during some drills. On the bright side, the lack of linemen has meant extra practice time for developing players such as redshirt freshmen Ron Darden and Davon Robb. The 6-8, 259-pound Robb, a former walk-on, “is still in the learning phase,” Groh said. “In the long run, because of injuries on the offensive line, he’s getting significantly more snaps than he would under other circumstances. That can only accelerate his development.” Of the 6-4, 309-pound Darden, Groh said, “He has tremendous size and all the potential in the world. He just has to develop that potential.” Football Festival. Due to lack of depth on the offensive line and other positions, the Cavaliers won’t be able to field two full teams for a scrimmage next Saturday at the spring football festival. But like last year, the players will compete in situational drills — red zone, goal line, field goals, etc. — at Scott Stadium to conclude the practice period. Fans are invited to take part in interactive events starting at 11 a.m. and the players will take the field at 12:30 p.m. “We’re trying to make it a day in which football is a lot of fun for those who come out,” Groh said. “It’s a celebration of football and being a Cavalier fan.” Leadership lessons. Quarterback Matt Schaub and cornerback Almondo Curry, voted team captains, said they learned how to play that role by watching and listening to last year’s captains, Billy McMullen and Angelo Crowell. “Everything they did, it was with the goal of winning. They weren’t going to lose,” Schaub said. “They set the tone for the entire team.” Said Curry: “They talked a little bit, but more than that they led by example. I want to be that kind of leader. That’s how you get respect.” Young but ready. Don’t be surprised if the Cavaliers start two freshmen at inside linebacker this season. Physically, anyway, Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham appear ready to step in and make an impact. Brooks is listed at 6-2 and 249 pounds, while Parham is 6-3 and 238. Groh expects both to add a little more weight and strength before the fall. Extra points. Connor Hughes, who finished last season as the starting kicker, has had a good spring. Groh estimates he made 11 or 12 field goals out of 13 attempts from different distances in recent practices. ... Groh said redshirt freshman Tony Franklin has looked “great” as a kick returner and could see action there in the fall along with Wali Lundy and Marquis Weeks. ... Today is Virginia’s last practice that is open to fans before Saturday’s football festival. It begins at 2:30 p.m. on the fields behind University Hall.