Since 2010, only three of the 18 players named captain of the Cavaliers’ men’s lacrosse team have been defensemen. The captains have included past Tewaaraton Award winners such as Steele Stanwick, and many other All-Americans such as Colin Briggs and Ken Clausen. Most captains were highly touted prospects coming out of high school, only to hit the ground running as impact players in college.
However, the week prior to Virginia’s game against Syracuse, coach Dom Starsia announced another captain who, four years ago, wasn’t even sure if he would make the team.
From Fayetteville, New York, senior defenseman Davi Sacco walked onto the men’s lacrosse team as a freshman. Although not as heavily recruited as Stanwick, Briggs or Clausen, Sacco was a 2011 first-team All Central New York selection and an honorable mention on the ESPNHS All-American roster. Now, he stands as one of five captains alongside midfielders Greg Coholan, Tyler German, Ryan Tucker and attackman Owen Van Arsdale.
“Coach [Starsia] came up to me and said that I would be an honorary captain for the Syracuse game,” Sacco said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I’m thankful that my teammates thought highly enough of me to go and ask coach to make me a permanent captain.”
After making the roster in 2012, Sacco saw his first action in Virginia’s 19-5 shellacking of VMI. Sacco would only see the field once more that season and only once during his sophomore year, again in a domination of VMI, winning 18-4.
In his junior year, Sacco would see the field six times, mostly on the team’s man-down defense. In another big game against VMI, he set career highs for ground balls in a game as well as caused turnovers en route to a victory 21-3.
On Tuesday, Sacco and the No. 8 Cavaliers (6-2) will look to trounce unranked VMI yet again and build a win streak after defeating No. 20 Johns Hopkins last Saturday.
As the anchor for the Cavaliers’ defense this year, Sacco is frequently looked to as a leader on a unit where six of ten defensemen are freshmen or sophomores. Going from walk-on to lauded veteran in his time at Virginia, Sacco has earned the respect of his teammates through his strong work ethic and determination.
“He has worked so hard for how long he’s been here,” junior attackman James Pannell said. “He was a walk-on kid. He maybe never really thought he was going to get an opportunity to start and now he’s a captain.”
Now, his young squad of defensemen look to him even more for leadership and direction during a season that hasn’t seen much defensive promise. At 56th in goals allowed per game, the team’s defense has set the stage many times for high-scoring shootouts.
“I think that our defense is very young, so we have a couple freshmen down there with me on close [defense],” Sacco said. “I think that they look up to me for guidance a little bit.”
The Cavaliers will have an opportunity to reassert their dominance against VMI on Tuesday and gain confidence as they enter the second half of the season. The Keydets (0-9, 0-3 Southern Conference) rank 67th in scoring offense with 4.89 goals scored per game — a statistic that will hopefully allow the young Virginia defense to flourish under Sacco’s guidance.
In addition to leadership, Starsia said he believes Sacco brings an inspiration that all the youth on the Cavaliers’ squad can, and should, relate to.
“As a coach, you’re always talking about working hard… and being ready to seize that opportunity when it does arise,” Starsia said. “To all the young players in the program that feel like, ‘Hey, I’m never going to get my shot here’ or ‘This is just too tough’, look — here’s a guy that really has paid his dues.”
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