In what is starting to become a familiar storyline, the Virginia men's lacrosse team started slowly but, once again, won going away. Against Towson Saturday, Virginia was held scoreless in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers scored 14 goals over the final three to easily defeat the Tigers 14-3.
"Not scoring in the first quarter is usually detrimental to your team," junior attackman Matt Ward said. "But our defense plays great, and they give us an opportunity to go on runs, and that's what we did in the second quarter."
Hobbled freshman attackman Ben Rubeor got Virginia on the board with 13:45 remaining in the second with a goal from the right side. Senior midfielder Jack deVilliers won the ensuing face-off and fired a pass to Rubeor who tallied his second goal in seven seconds. By the end of the second quarter, Virginia had the game well in control up 7-1. Following his two tone-setting goals, Rubeor passed the scoring baton to Ward, who went on to score five goals and add one assist the rest of the way.
Although the two combined for nine points, neither is 100 percent healthy. Over the past few weeks, Rubeor has been bothered by a pair of bum ankles and has only practiced once a week, making his game-day heroics that much more impressive. Ward, who has been suffering from an injured knee and ankle, also has not been playing full speed.
Despite Ward's six points, Starsia acknowledged that the junior is not playing up to his full potential.
"There are things he can do [to improve]," Starsia said. "In his defense, he's been a little hurt. He hasn't been able to practice the way he would like to."
Starsia also made it clear that despite the big play of Rubeor, the liability still rests with Virginia's upperclassmen.
"Whether they like it or not, the responsibility on offense is going to fall on Ward and [John] Christmas's shoulders," Starsia said. "When they're throwing the ball away early, it generally sets the ticket for everything else we're doing."
Towson, unlike Virginia, was never able to break out of their offensive funk, one that has plagued them all season. Their two leading scorers entering the game, attackmen Jonathan Engelke and Bobby Griebe, combined for two assists on the day while junior attackman Kyle Fiat scored all three of the Tiger goals.
While he only had one assist, much of the credit for the win can be attributed to deVilliers, who won 12 of 18 face-offs against Towson expert Matt Eckerl, allowing Virginia to dictate the pace of the game.
With the contest well in hand late, Starsia removed the starters, allowing some younger players to gain playing time. Freshman attackman Ryan Kelly, who hails from Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach, was one of those players to take full advantage of the action by scoring two goals over the final four minutes of the game, his first in a Virginia uniform.
No. 1 Johns Hopkins now awaits the Cavaliers, who will travel to Baltimore for a 1 p.m. game Saturday. Although Virginia has gotten away with limited offensive production early, it won't have the same luxury against the Blue Jays, who came back from a 7-1 deficit to defeat Syracuse 12-11 Friday night.
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