Despite an 11.07 goals against average last season — good for 47th in the country — few doubted the Virginia men’s lacrosse team’s talent on the defensive end.
Then-senior defenseman and starter Scott McWilliams boasted multiple All-American honors. Meanwhile, then-junior defenseman Greg Danseglio and then-sophomore defenseman Tanner Scales toted all-conference honors themselves. The trio was as consistent as it gets, with each player starting all 16 games on close-defense.
In addition, seniors Chris LaPierre, Blake Riley and Bobby Hill led the Cavaliers’ defensive-midfield unit in. While the natural growing pains of a freshman netminder may have hindered the group’s statistics, the Virginia defense was certainly no slouch.
But come 2015, coach Dom Starsia — in his 23rd season at the helm of the program — will face the challenge of replacing almost entirely the team’s backend.
McWilliams, LaPierre, Riley and Hill graduated, while Danseglio will transfer to the University of Maryland. Last Saturday in a scrimmage against Navy, Scales injured his Achilles, effectively ending his season.
This year, No. 9 Virginia has no choice but to embrace a next-man-up mentality as it breaks at least six new players into the defensive rotation.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been quite this new back there,” Starsia said.
But while the names and numbers of the starters will be unfamiliar to the Klöckner Stadium faithful, the drop-off in physical ability will be minimal. Freshmen defensemen Scott Hooper and Logan Greco — who will likely occupy two of the starting roles — come in as the No. 3 and No. 5 rated defenders by Inside Lacrosse, respectively. Senior defenseman Davi Sacco is the favorite to land the third close-defender spot.
As for the defensive midfield, sophomore Michael Howard will assume the long-stick defenseman role. Sophomore midfielder Will McNamara — the No. 3 overall recruit two seasons ago — will be a fixture along with fellow sophomore Carlson Milikin and freshman Jack Falk.
Starsia said he knows the new lineup will face a learning curve, and despite drastic progression from the fall, the unit will still commit mental errors. However, improved play from sophomore goalie Matt Barrett will go a long way towards assuaging early-season growing pains.
“We need Matt to play like an upperclassman,” Starsia said. “He’s had a really good preseason. He needs to hold down the fort for us while some kids get their feet on the ground.”
Still, if the Cavalier offense is to be as effective as it was a season ago, Virginia must weather the storm in the early part of the schedule.
Despite graduating two four-year contributors in attackman Mark Cockerton — who led Virginia with 47 goals a year ago — and midfielder Rob Emery, the No. 7 scoring offense from last season should maintain its heralded firepower.
Senior attackman Owen Van Arsdale will replace Cockerton, sliding into his more natural position at left attack, while junior attackman James Pannell will look to add to his 39 goals from last season, maintaining his spot on the right wing. Sophomore attackman Ryan Lukacovic — who unofficially scored four goals in Saturday’s scrimmage against Navy — will assume the distributor role behind the net.
At midfield, senior Ryan Tucker and sophomore Zed Williams will lead the charge, while senior Tyler German and junior Greg Coholan will rotate in with the first unit.
Van Arsdale said what will make this offense special is its balance. While the attackmen still have the capability to carry the load, he said he expects the midfielders to take on a larger role.
“We’re probably going to be attacking a little bit more from the midfield and taking advantage of those matchups this year as opposed to hitting the poles from the wings with our attack,” he said.
The Cavaliers — in their first three-year stretch under Starsia without a Final Four appearance — will be tested immediately as they prepare to face No. 7 Loyola Saturday.
Led by senior attackman Nikko Pontrello — a second-team USILA preseason All-American — the Greyhounds present a daunting challenge for the youthful Cavalier defense. Even with impressive showings in preseason scrimmages, few of Virginia’s new faces have squared off against an attack as explosive as Loyola’s, which finished sixth nationally in scoring offense last season.
“We’re probably a little ahead of where I thought we might be right now, but the competition is about to get much tougher with Loyola,” Starsia said. “We’ll certainly find out where we are.”
It would be easy for the Cavaliers to be overwhelmed given their many inexperienced players, especially coming off a 2014 late-season collapse which saw Virginia drop six of its last 10 games after climbing to No. 2 in the polls.
Starsia said he will rely upon a consistent offensive attack and senior leadership as the Cavaliers will use a game-by-game approach to climb back into the conversation of collegiate lacrosse’s elite.
“There are no big games,” Van Arsdale said. “The season is just a bunch of little pieces. It will all come together.”
Opening faceoff is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. in Baltimore.
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