The No. 1 Virginia men's lacrosse team, a squad known for its strong scoring prowess, found itself in unfamiliar territory yesterday afternoon. The Cavaliers struggled to only one second quarter score and a slim 5-3 halftime advantage over No. 9 Notre Dame.
The offensive futility did not last for long however, as Virginia (4-0) scored four goals in just over three minutes on its way to a decisive 14-8 victory over the Fighting Irish (3-1) at Klockner Stadium.
Sophomore attackman John Christmas led the Cavaliers with four goals. Senior midfielder Chris Rotelli and freshman attackman Matt Ward had three tallies apiece. Ward and Christmas each had a pair in the Cavaliers' early second half scoring run.
"It's clear that's when we were clicking, and when we're clicking, we're dangerous," Rotelli said. "I think what gets overlooked is the fact that we were winning face-offs that whole time also. The fact that we can keep getting those face-offs allows us to make those runs."
Sophomore midfielder and face-off specialist Jack deVilliers won 14 of 23 faceoffs in the contest. His wins helped ignite Virginia's early second half scoring run.
"That's really winning these games for us," Christmas said. "Jack is winning all the face-offs, and if he keeps on doing that, the team is just going to keep on winning."
In addition to the advantage on these draws, Virginia also outshot the Fighting Irish 51 to 27 and won 54 ground balls to Notre Dame's 44.
The Cavaliers started the game strong, scoring three goals in the first five and a half minutes, going up 4-2 on sophomore attackman Joe Yevoli's sidearm bounce shot from the right side with 3:26 left in the first quarter.
Virginia had more trouble finding the net in the second quarter, however, netting only one goal in 15 minutes.
"In the second quarter we went to hell in a handbasket," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "Everybody was going one-on-one, we were turning it over, all of a sudden we didn't want to play by the rules anymore."
After Virginia's quick offensive scoring flurry put the team up 9-3, the Fighting Irish answered back with three goals of their own to cut the Cavaliers' lead in half.
Notre Dame was not able to move any closer than that, however, as the Virginia offense went back to work.
When senior midfielder A.J. Shannon's shot careened off the post all the way out to midfield, Rotelli was there to pick the ball up. He raced toward the net and dropped a low shot on the run into the right-hand corner of the Fighting Irish net to put the Cavaliers up 11-6 with 9:24 left in the contest.
Only 14 seconds later, junior midfielder Zach Heffner scored his first career goal on a precise feed from junior long stick midfielder Trey Whitty that zipped past two outstreched Notre Dame sticks.
Just a minute and a half after that, the Cavaliers fed the ball around the perimeter and found Ward open on the left side. He easily sent the ball into the Fighting Irish net to give the Cavaliers their largest advantage at 13-6.
Completing sharp passes along the perimeter and working to find the open man helped Virginia exploit Notre Dame's frequently over-anxious defense.
"They love to slide aggressively and it kind of messes up your offense," Christmas said. "They're so blatant about sliding so it was important to find the open man who could make a move and bang it backside."
This year's 4-0 start is the team's best performance out of the gate since 1996 when the Cavaliers won six straight to open the season. Virginia takes the field again next Sunday when they host No. 16 Towson.
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