Outfoxed by the Hens
Virginia suffers earliest NCAA exit since 2001
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 14, 2007

It was on a frigid day in February when you first got the idea that the 2007 Virginia men’s lacrosse team was going to be a vastly different outfit than the one that had gone undefeated and won a national championship in 2006.

UVa, playing on its turf field, lost its season opener to Drexel - a school out of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Nearly three months later, Virginia suffered another shocking loss to a member of the CAA. This time, the defeat was season-ending.

On Sunday night at Klockner Stadium, UVa was pounded by Delaware, 14-8, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The loss marked Virginia’s earliest exit from the tournament since the 2001 season when it was sent home in the first round by Hofstra.

“This was a big, powerful lacrosse team that we couldn’t run by the way we usually can on a lot of folks,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “They play lacrosse the way we like to play, and they were better at it today.”

There was no doubt about that. The way Delaware played, it was hard to believe that it was unseeded in the tournament. The Blue Hens (12-5) pushed the second-seeded Wahoos around for much of the contest.

They edged UVa in ground balls (46 to 39), shots (44 to 40), and, perhaps most importantly - faceoffs. Thanks to specialist Alex Smith, Delaware won 18 of 26.

The Blue Hens also completely neutralized Ben Rubeor. UVa’s leading scorer, who was tied for second in the nation in points this season (4.53 per game), had zero. Garrett Billings, Virginia’s second-leading scorer, was also held scoreless.

“I don’t think I had my best day,” said Rubeor, who registered at least two points in every previous game. “I didn’t finish when I needed to, [and] I thought we didn’t take advantages of some of the opportunities we had.”

The loss was Virginia’s first at Klockner Stadium this season. It was only the third time that UVa senior Drew Thompson had ever lost at Klockner.

“I felt we were ready to play today and that my career wouldn’t be ending on this field,” said Thompson, who had his best offensive day of the season with three goals. “Even though it ended this way, I wouldn’t have wanted to end it any other way than playing for Virginia lacrosse.”

UVa jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Thompson and Danny Glading. However, Delaware responded with three goals to go up 3-2.

The Blue Hens took a 7-6 lead into the locker room.

Virginia seemed energized when it started the second half. Adam Fassnacht won the opening faceoff, and Thompson converted at the other end to tie the game.

“I thought, ‘O.K., here we go. We’re back in it. We’re going to make a run and put these guys away,’” Thompson said.

But that’s when everything fell apart.

Delaware scored seven consecutive goals. By the time Virginia got on the board again - a Thompson goal with 1:28 remaining - Delaware players were already thinking about their next opponent (UMBC), and most of the 2,328 fans in attendance had cleared out.

“I’m just so impressed and proud of this group I’ve got,” said Delaware coach Bob Shillinglaw. “They just played terrific. They played their hearts out.

“This is right up there with one of my best wins… it’s been a while since we’ve beat a top-10 team.”

Starsia called the loss a “disappointing end to a terrific season.”

“I’m very proud of my team,” he said. “The seniors, the leaders on the team, did a great job from Day 1. I’ve enjoyed this season as much as any I’ve had in some time, but these things happen.

“A year ago, we walked away with our heads up. We’re going to do that again.”

Ground balls

Rubeor said he wasn’t hampered by a knee injury that he has been playing with for the last few weeks. “Once I was out there, I didn’t think about it,” he said. “The brace was more of a precaution.”… Curtis Dickson led Delaware with four goals. Goalie Tommy Scherr had 18 saves, including back-to-back man-down saves on Thompson and Rubeor in the fourth quarter.

 

This year, UVa is mortal
May 14, 2007
Jerry Ratcliffe

A little more than a year ago, Virginia lacrosse coach Dom Starsia leaned against a wall inside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and attempted to put into perspective his team’s national championship that capped a perfect 17-0 season.

The personable Cavaliers’ coach said at the time that he didn’t think people truly understood just how special that team really was.

They do now.

That group of Cavaliers was a rolling ball of butcher knives, annihilating everything in its path.

This year’s version had a much narrower margin for error and that showed Sunday when second-seeded Virginia was stunned, 14-8, by unseeded Delaware in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Making matters worse, the upset came on the Cavaliers’ home field where they had lost only three times over this batch of seniors’ careers up until Sunday.

Starsia said he felt good at halftime when his team trailed 7-6, and probably felt even better when senior Drew Thompson scored the second of his three goals only 16 seconds into the third period, knotting it at 7-all.

Little did anyone suspect that the Blue Hens would dominate the rest of the way. They pushed the margin to a whopping 14-7 and shut out the Cavaliers for 28 minutes until Thompson finally scored a meaningless goal in the waning moments.

Delaware’s 14 goals were the most by an opponent in a win over Virginia in 39 games as they snuffed out the Cavaliers’ quest of a title repeat.

The Hens admittedly were a bit in awe of their surroundings in the early moments, challenging the reigning champion on its home field. But they quickly dismissed Virginia’s history and got down to business.

Starsia was surprised by Delaware’s athletic ability, noting afterward that the Hens were faster at ground level than they had appeared when he observed them from the stands and on film.

“We couldn’t run by [Delaware] like we can a lot of folks,” Starsia said. “We ran into a team that was as athletic or even more athletic than we were, which doesn’t happen that often.”

Delaware’s offense, ranked fourth nationally (12 goals per game) was relentless. The Hens’ defense was just as impressive as they held Virginia shooting star Ben Rubeor, considered one of the top five players in the country, scoreless for the first time in the last 19 games.

Not making excuses, Starsia said his team looked like it hadn’t played in a while, and he was dead on. The Cavs hadn’t played in two weeks, since losing to Duke in the ACC Tournament’s championship game.

Virginia appeared out of sync and uninspired for whatever reasons. The offense sputtered and coughed and when the Cavs did manage to get off a shot, they showed little patience with their selection.

UVa lazily directed the majority of its 26 shots on goal so that Delaware goalkeeper Tommy Scherr hardly had to step out of his shadow, taking nothing away from his effort.

Victorious coach Bob Shillinglaw seemed in disbelief at his good fortune, perhaps the biggest win in his 29-year career with the Blue Hens.

“There’s been a lot of sleepless nights this week for me and our defensive coordinator Greg Carroll,” Shillinglaw said.

They had been worried about Virginia’s arsenal of scorers, in particular Rubeor, a lefty that had been on a tear all season long with 46 goals in just 15 games.

But Hens’ senior defenseman Rob Smith, who goes up against left-handed attackman Adam Zuder-Havens in practice, handcuffed the Cavalier threat all game long, limiting Rubeor to a mere six shots.

While the Delaware players celebrated the upset and a trip to next weekend’s quarterfinals, the realization began to hit the conquered Cavaliers that it was all over.

“I didn’t think my career would be ending on this field,” Thompson said of the outcome.

“To be honest, it felt worse than a six-goal loss,” Starsia lamented.

Like any coach worth his salt, Starsia gave credit to Delaware, talked about what an enjoyable year he had with this group of players, noting that they had been a work in progress from Day 1 and that when it all came down to Sunday, he may have been just a couple of stars short.

He left Klockner Stadium thinking about how this team will grow up and will get better. Trouble is, he’ll have to wait nine months to find out.
 

Hens stomp stunned Virginia
Defending NCAA champion suffers embarrassing home loss
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- A spectator who walked into Klockner Stadium with 2 minutes left in the game last night would have been convinced the scoreboard was malfunctioning. It showed Delaware with twice as many goals as Virginia.

Alas for the defending NCAA champion Cavaliers, the score was correct.

Third-ranked U.Va. added a meaningless goal with 1:28 left, but when the final horn sounded, Delaware's players joyously celebrated a 14-8 first-round victory that ranks among the greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history.

And so a season that began with a stunning loss to Drexel ended with another shocker for U.Va. (12-4). The Cavaliers entered the tournament as No. 2 seeds and were heavily favored to advance to the second round. This is only the fourth trip to the NCAAs for the Blue Hens, and they'd lost 20 straight to opponents ranked in the top 10.

But after spotting Virginia the game's first two goals, Colonial Athletic Association champion Delaware (12-5) was clearly the superior team. The Blue Hens executed efficiently and confidently, to the growing alarm of most in the crowd of 2,328.

Delaware moves on to meet UMBC or Maryland in a second-round game Sunday at Annapolis, Md. The six-goal margin of defeat matched U.Va.'s largest ever at Klockner Stadium.

"It was a disappointing ending to a terrific season," Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia said. "As much as it may have been about us, it was also about Delaware, which I thought played very, very well and was very sharp over the course of the entire game ... But these things happen. A year ago, we won with our heads up, and we're going to walk off today with our heads up again."

Blue Hens senior Alex Smith, the top faceoff specialist in NCAA history, lived up to his billing, winning 18 of 26 draws. But the Cavaliers knew all about Smith. More shocking was how talented his teammates, who included defenseman Rob Smith, a transfer from Georgetown, turned out to be.

"We ran into a team that was an athletic or more athletic than we were," Starsia said, "and that doesn't happen very often."

Virginia trailed 7-6 at halftime, but there was no panic in the home locker room. Sixteen seconds into the third quarter, senior midfielder Drew Thompson scored to make it 7-7.

"I thought, 'All right, here we go. We're back in it. We're going to make a run, and we're going to put these guys away,' " Thompson said afterward.

The opposite happened. Delaware scored the game's next seven goals, a run broken only when Thompson connected with 68 seconds left. Virginia made things easy at times for Tommy Scherr, but the Blue Hens' goalie played brilliantly in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore attackman Danny Glading led U.Va. with four goals and an assist, and Thompson matched his career high with three goals. But all-ACC attackman Ben Rubeor, who came in as the nation's fourth-leading scorer (68 points), was shut out. So was sophomore attackman Garrett Billings, who entered with 43 points.

Until last night, Rubeor had scored at least two points in every game this season.

"What a lacrosse season, huh?" said Bob Shillinglaw, who's in his 29th year as Delaware's coach.

 

Defending champs done in 1
Delaware had managed just one NCAA tournament win in its history before upsetting UVa.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia's defending NCAA men's lacrosse champions began the season with a shocker and ended the season with a shocker.

The Cavaliers had an entire season to make up for a February loss to unranked Drexel and had restored their good name, earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Then, 15th-ranked Delaware came into Klockner Stadium on Sunday and dominated the Cavaliers in a fashion that was every bit as convincing as the final, 14-8 score.

"I was thinking before the game that I had only lost twice at Klockner in my four seasons," said senior co-captain Drew Thompson, one of the top returnees from UVa's 2006 NCAA championship squad.

"Whenever I stepped on the field, I always felt confident that we'd come away with a 'W.' I felt we came ready to play today. I didn't think my career would be ending on this field."

Thompson scored three goals, the second coming after only 16 seconds had elapsed in the second half. Delaware had gone into intermission with a 7-6 lead.

"I thought, 'All right, here we go; we're back in it, we're ready to rock 'n' roll and put these guys away,' " Thompson said.

There was an onslaught coming, but the Cavaliers (12-4) were the victims. Delaware (12-5) scored seven straight goals before Thompson ended the scoring with 1:28 left.

It was only the second NCAA tournament victory for the Blue Hens, who were making their fourth appearance in the field. Before Sunday, Delaware was 0-20 in its history against teams ranked in the top 10.

When asked about the biggest victories in his 29 seasons at Delaware, coach Bob Shillingslaw harkened back to the program's previous NCAA victory, when the Blue Hens rallied from a 9-5 deficit and beat Maryland-Baltimore County in overtime in 1999.

"This is right up there as one of my best wins," he said.

One of his best wins?

"If I had a mantelpiece behind me, I would have a game ball on it," he said. "That's for sure."

Delaware entered the tournament on a five-game winning streak and boasts one of the premier face-off specialists in NCAA history in Alex Smith.

Smith, who plays only in face-off situations, came in with a career 74.1-percent winning percentage and was 18-for-26 Sunday, including 6-for-6 in the second quarter.

With Delaware clinging to a 9-7 lead to start the fourth quarter, Smith won four face-offs in a row. The quarter was nearly three minutes old before Virginia had possession of the ball.

Once the Cavaliers got the ball, they turned it over in the space of 30 seconds.

Delaware goalie Tommy Scherr had 18 saves but many came on shots that seemingly were aimed at his stick.

"We helped the kid along in the cage at the other end," UVa coach Dom Starsia said. "He seemed to gain confidence as the game went along. At the end of the day, he was terrific."

UVa got four goals from Danny Glading -- all in the first half -- but high-scoring junior attackman Ben Rubeor was shut out by Rob Smith, a Delaware graduate student who played for Georgetown against the Cavaliers in the 2006 NCAA quarterfinals.

"I just didn't have my best game," said Rubeor, a Tewaarton Trophy finalist who was fourth in Division I in scoring with 46 goals and 22 assists.

The margin Sunday exceeded the margin from Virginia's other three losses -- to Drexel and twice to Duke. Schools whose names began with "D" gave the Cavaliers fits all season, including Dartmouth, a 10-9 loser in Charlottesville.

"As much as it is about us, it's about Delaware, too," Starsia said. "Lots of teams are better than they were five years ago, but if we were ever not completely ready to play, we were in trouble. We just didn't have the margin for error that we had a year ago.

"It felt worse than a six-goal loss at one time. It occurred to me with a minute or two to go, that it was probably better like this than a one-goal loss or
 

UVa women avenge loss to Princeton

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- While the Virginia women's lacrosse team knew it had a dangerous first-round match in the NCAA tournament, at least it was against an opponent that got the Cavaliers' attention.

Last season Princeton knocked the Cavaliers out of the tournament in a first-round game at Klockner Stadium, but third-seeded UVa was ready for the Tigers on Sunday.

"We waited a long time for this game," said senior Kate Breslin, who had six goals as the Cavaliers advanced with a 19-10 victory at Klockner.

Sophomore Blair Weymouth added five goals for the Cavaliers, who improved their record to 17-3 and will entertain North Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Tar Heels advanced with a 14-7 victory over Richmond.

Princeton scored the first two goals but Virginia rallied for an 8-3 halftime lead.

The Cavaliers had won a regular-season meeting in Charlottesville, 9-7.

Last season UVa won at Princeton 16-3 in the regular season, then fell to the Tigers 8-3 in NCAA play at home.

"I'm sure they had a little something extra to prove after last year," Princeton coach Chris Sailer said.

"I've got to believe that was one of the best games they've played all year. They looked as good as anybody."

-- Doug Doughty
 

UMBC, Delaware inject parity into NCAA tourney
Retrievers or Delaware will achieve a school first next week - a final four appearance
By Gary Lambrecht
Sun reporter
Originally published May 14, 2007

COLLEGE PARK // Nearly two days of first-round NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament games had been played before it finally happened. The regular-season parity that increasingly has crept into the sport in recent years finally spilled over into the postseason.
The UMBC Retrievers and the Delaware Blue Hens, each an unseeded team with little tournament history, weighed in and did some major damage to the bracket yesterday.

One of them is assured of going to the first Division I final four in school history, because those two surprise opponents will square off Sunday in the quarterfinal round at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

First, Delaware, a school that was struggling in midseason and had to win the four-team Colonial Athletic Association tournament just to make the NCAAs, stunned defending national champion and No. 2 seed Virginia in Charlottesville, 14-8.

UMBC followed last night with the encore in College Park. After surrendering the game's first three goals, the Retrievers stormed back to beat No. 7 seed Maryland, 13-9, marking the school's first victory in a Division I tournament.

Top-seeded Duke, led by attackmen Matt Danowski and Zack Greer, will try to beat No. 8 North Carolina for the third time this spring. The Tar Heels ended a five-game losing streak against Navy by defeating the Midshipmen, 12-8, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

UMBC, playing in only its fourth Division I tournament, knocked off Maryland for the fifth time in 29 meetings between the schools.

Now, the Retrievers will try to solve a Delaware team that is appearing in only its third quarterfinal game, its first since getting there by beating UMBC in the first round in 1999.

UMBC will be facing Delaware senior Alex Smith (Boys' Latin), the premier faceoff specialist in the game. He won 18 of 26 draws at Virginia, which lost in the first round for the first time since 2001.

The Retrievers, who have the formidable attack trio of Cayle Ratcliffe and seniors Drew Westervelt and Andy Gallagher, also will try to beat Delaware junior goalie Tommy Scherr (Mount St. Joseph). All he did yesterday was stuff Virginia with 18 saves and shut out junior attackman Ben Rubeor, who entered the tournament with 46 goals.

For Virginia, it was only the second time under 15-year coach Dom Starsia that the Cavaliers failed to advance to the quarterfinals. The Cavaliers also are the fourth straight defending national champion to fail to advance to the final four in the next season.

In the northern quarterfinals at Princeton on Saturday, the favorites played to form, albeit in drastically different ways.

No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins and No. 6 Georgetown each needed an overtime period to get by in the first round. Hopkins survived a late rally by unseeded Notre Dame on Saturday night to advance to its seventh straight quarterfinal round under seven-year coach Dave Pietramala. Georgetown, with huge games from freshman attackman Craig Dowd and freshman midfielder Andrew Brancaccio, slipped past unseeded Princeton yesterday.

The two schools have not played since Hopkins won a 15-10 contest in 1993, and they aren't exactly thrilled with each other. In a preseason scrimmage against Georgetown last year, midfielder Stephen Peyser suffered a broken jaw that caused him to missed half of his sophomore season.

Peyser is now the Blue Jays' hottest faceoff man, and has been a major catalyst in Hopkins' six-game winning streak.

The other half of the Princeton bracket features two more favorites, each of whom comes from upstate New York and neither of whom is named Syracuse.

Fourth-seeded Cornell, the only unbeaten team in the field, drilled Towson by eight goals on Saturday and might be the most balanced team in the tournament. Behind goalie Matt McMonagle, midfielder Max Seibald and attackmen Eric Pittard and David Mitchell, the Big Red is trying to advance to its first final four since 1988 and win its first title since 1977.

Cornell will have to get by No. 5 seed Albany, which features the lethal combination of attackmen Frank Resetarits and Merrick Thomson. The Great Danes won their first Division I playoff game by routing Loyola, 19-10.
 

N.C. State Downs No. 3 Virginia Baseball, 8-6
Cavaliers drop just second ACC series of season

CHARLOTTESVILLE - North Carolina State scored two runs in the eighth inning on a Ryan Pond single to break a 6-all deadlock en route to an 8-6 win and 2-1 series triumph over the No. 3 Virginia baseball team Sunday at Davenport Field. The game drew 2,538 fans, bringing the weekend total to 7,599 and setting a three-game series school record. The previous high was 7,367, set in 2006 during the North Carolina series.

Jake Rule (Waynesboro, Va.) took the loss for Virginia after struggling with his control in the eighth inning. He walked four batters in 1 2/3 innings and also surrendered a hit and two runs in falling to 4-4 this season. Cavalier pitchers were uncharacteristically wild, walking a season-high 10 batters.

Andrew Taylor (3-2) threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for N.C. State. Eryk McConnell tossed the final two innings to earn his 10th save.

Sean Doolittle (Tabernacle, N.J) hit a three-run home run for Virginia, while Brandon Guyer (Herndon, Va.) added a two-run double.

Virginia (39-12, 17-9 ACC) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Guyer's double, but N.C. State (33-18, 14-13) put up a five-spot in the fourth inning against Doolittle after he had tossed three scoreless innings. Jeremy Synan hit a single off the glove of shortstop Tyler Cannon (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) and Doolittle then uncorked a wild pitch to tie the game. Tommy Foschi followed with a three-run homer to left field to give N.C. State a 5-2 lead. Doolittle went 3 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs, eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Virginia scored four in the fifth inning to grab the lead. Doolittle hit a three-run homer to knot the score, and Beau Seabury (Mount Vernon, Wash.) hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning to give the Cavaliers the lead.

The Wolfpack responded with the tying run in the seventh inning when Joe Florio grounded into a double play with the bases loaded. N.C. State then took the lead in the eighth inning, as Rule walked the bases loaded and Pond hit a two-run single to left field to give the Pack an 8-6 advantage.

Virginia is back in action at 7 p.m. Tuesday for the 2007 home finale against No. 15 Coastal Carolina.

 

ACC coaches give an F to expanded schedule
League discusses increasing number of games from 16 to 18 for 2008-09 season
By KEN TYSIAC - McClatchy Newspapers

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The serenity of the seaside Ritz-Carlton resort is the perfect place for ACC Commissioner John Swofford to discuss a contentious issue with the league’s men’s basketball coaches.

If it gets too hot in the conference room at the ACC meetings this week, Swofford can escape for a walk along the beach.

He said ACC officials would discuss increasing the conference schedule from 16 games to 18 beginning in the 2008-09 season. Many ACC coaches will resist that idea.

“It would be a huge mistake,” Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski said.

“An 18-game schedule to me appears to be too many,” Clemson’s Oliver Purnell said.

It’s not too many for the Pac-10, which plays 18 conference games. Or the Big East and Big Ten, which will begin playing 18 next season.

Swofford said extra conference games could generate more ticket revenue for schools and would appeal to fans and television executives. But coaches say two more conference games would make their schedules too difficult.

ACC teams play in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and many play highly regarded opponents in tournaments in November or December. Coaches might be reluctant to schedule additional high-profile nonconference games if they have to play 18 ACC games.

In that case, you won’t see as many Duke-Texas or North Carolina-Kentucky matchups.

“One of the main things that made the ACC’s profile so special was its ability to play in top-flight intersectional games and tournaments throughout the season,” Krzyzewski said. “In turn, this allows us to negotiate the nation’s best television package. We should not forget the reason the league enjoys the notoriety of being the best basketball conference in the country.”

A three-season scheduling rotation that started when the ACC expanded to 12 teams ends after 2007-08. Under that format, each team plays two “permanent partner” rivals twice each season.

Each team plays three of its nine remaining ACC opponents twice and the other six opponents once in each season, on a rotating basis.

Athletics officials from each school might vote on a scheduling format Wednesday at the ACC meetings.

Ken Haines, president and CEO of Charlotte-based ACC television package syndicator Raycom Sports, said he favors an 18-game schedule.

“Common sense indicates that the more you have them playing each other, the more attractive the schedule is, as long as it’s not at the expense of marquee matchups with nonconference opponents,” he said.

Contracts with the ACC’s broadcasting partners are unlikely to be renegotiated before they end after the 2010-11 season, regardless of whether 18 conference games are approved, Haines said.

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg is concerned ACC teams wouldn’t receive enough credit for their strengthened schedules when the NCAA tournament field is selected. He said conference officials would listen to coaches’ objections but would move forward with the 18-game concept anyway.

“The league is going to do what’s in the best interests of the league and also what’s in the best interests of their relationship with the television partners,” Greenberg said.

 

Report: Long makes baseball commitment to FSU
From Staff Reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
May 13, 2007

The Tallahassee Democrat has reported that Charlottesville's Kyle Long has committed to Florida State's baseball program.
Long, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long and younger brother of Virginia football standout Chris Long, is considered one of the most sought-after high school football prospects in the nation.

The 6-foot-7, 280-pound offensive tackle from St. Anne's-Belfield School is finishing up his junior year as a pitcher/first baseman for the Saints' baseball team.

Long, who took his official visit to Florida State this weekend, has football offers from the Seminoles, Virginia, Florida, Southern Cal, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech and several others.

He has been torn between baseball and football ever since the recruiting process began.