The Virginia lacrosse team left South Bend, Ind., this past weekend suffering its second overtime loss of the season. Despite the loss, playing a top-10 Notre Dame closely was a step in the right direction after a rocky start to the season.
“I thought we probably played our best game at Notre Dame,” coach Dom Starsia said. “It was the most complete effort we’d had all year.”
The Cavaliers (3-5, 0-2 ACC) were leading the game before Notre Dame junior midfielder Sergio Perkovic tied the game and forced overtime. Perkovic won the game for the Fighting Irish (5-1, 1-0 ACC) 29 seconds into overtime. Virginia will look to right the ship and end its two-game skid in its annual battle with No. 7 Johns Hopkins for the Doyle Smith Cup.
The game between the two is played to honor the late Edward Doyle Smith, Jr. He made contributions to the lacrosse programs at both schools and in 2000 was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The Cavaliers have won the last two Doyle Smith Cups but have struggled to find success so far this year.
Of Virginia’s five losses this year, three of the teams are currently ranked in the NCAA Top 20. The Cavaliers are currently unranked but received votes. Despite being winless in the ACC this year, all but one of Virginia’s losses have been by four goals or fewer. Two of the defeats were in overtime.
“We just got to break through here and get on a little roll, and I feel like we’re awfully close,” Starsia added.
Johns Hopkins (4-2) is riding a three-game win streak, which it capped off in a thrilling overtime win over Syracuse. Its two other losses came in succession against Loyola and North Carolina. The Cavaliers have yet to play No. 12 North Carolina but lost to No. 17 Loyola in their opening game and to No. 5 Syracuse a few weeks ago. Virginia’s loss to Syracuse was by just one goal.
“Syracuse and Notre Dame are two of the better teams we play, and we played them to one goal, and I think if we put it all together we can make a little run here,” junior midfielder AJ Fish said.
To ignite that run, the Cavaliers will have to stop Johns Hopkins’ attackman duo of senior Ryan Brown and sophomore Shack Stanwick. Brown has 16 goals and seven assists on the year, and Stanwick has added nine goals and 19 assists. In Virginia’s NCAA Tournament loss to Johns Hopkins last year, Brown and Stanwick accounted for seven goals and four assists. Stanwick’s older brother, who has since graduated, chipped in two goals and two assists.
The Cavaliers have had a much more balanced attack this season, with four players scoring 10 or more goals. Senior attackman James Pannell and junior midfielder Zed Williams lead the team with 14 goals each. Junior goalie Matt Barrett has 70 saves this year to go along with 83 goals against. Barrett was a second-team All-American last year.
“The last two years we’ve beaten them in the regular season and they’ve beaten us in the tournament,” Fish said. “We’re gonna have to dig deep and play our best to get this win.”
The matchups Fish referenced were very different affairs. Both Cavalier regular season wins were overtime thrillers, whereas the Johns Hopkins victories were much more one-sided. Johns Hopkins won the tournament games with a combined 33 to 15. Starsia believes these recent losses will help fuel the team.
“It’s one of those games I think the players circle on the schedule early on,” Starsia said. “Certain games you don’t have to work real hard to get their attention for it — this is one of them.”
Senior midfielder Greg Coholan should be excited given his success against his team’s rival. Coholan scored both game-winning goals in Virginia’s past two wins over Johns Hopkins. He has seven goals and nine assists on the year.
“Hopkins is always a great time,” Coholan said. “I’m hoping Klöckner will be rocking.”
With the upcoming showdown between these two powerhouse programs the only home game for Virginia sports, it should be. The two teams have combined for 14 NCAA titles and an incredible 51 final four appearances. The Cavaliers’ 2011 title is the pair’s most recent along with a three-year stretch of alternating titles from 2005-2007.
Game time is set for 1 p.m. this Sunday.
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