When Virginia freshman Danny Glading was ranked the number-one recruit in the nation by Inside Lacrosse magazine, there was a great deal of expectations to live up to. He already had to deal with comparisons to his brother, Billy, who was an All-American midfielder on Virginia's 2003 NCAA Championship team. Now the entire nation's eyes would be on No. 9 for the Cavaliers.
However, through 10 games this season Glading has surpassed the hype and become an integral part of the No. 1 Virginia men's lacrosse team's best start in school history, 10-0.
Glading is one of only two freshmen starting for the Cavaliers this season, and seems to have blended in nicely. He is currently fourth on the team and 10th in the ACC with 22 points on the year. Glading may be new to the team, but he has already begun to show signs of leadership on the field.
"Danny's a freshman, but he doesn't play like one out there," senior attacker Matt Ward said. "He certainly is almost the quarterback of our attack. He's getting one of the better defensive guys, and he's still willing to kind of control us on offense."
Glading is a pure athlete. At Georgetown Prep he lettered four times in basketball, and was even named captain his senior season. He lettered twice in soccer and broke the school records for both total points and assists as an All-American on his lacrosse team. Still, college has offered Glading a new challenge.
"It's a higher level lacrosse than high school," Glading said. "But I'm playing with such great people to adjust with, I learn so much from Ben [Rubeor] and Matt Ward every day in practice."
One thing Glading has picked up from his teammates is consistency. He has scored at least one goal in nine out of 10 games this season, including two against the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins last Saturday.
Glading, however, is not the only freshman getting attention. His roommate, freshman Garrett Billings, leads scorers off the bench with 17 goals this season and is currently tied with Glading at 22 points on the year. The friendly competition between these two attack men has helped take a team that was ranked 10th in the nation in scoring last season to first this year. Despite his initial success, Glading's coach says he still has room for improvement, a thought that could scare most defenders across the country.
"He needs to be a little bit more of an angry shooter," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "His shooting skills are good, but they could be better -- they will get better."
One thing that cannot get any better is Virginia's season so far. The Cavaliers are the only undefeated team remaining in the country, and have an average victory margin of 8.40 goals per game. The season's record-breaking success may be a surprise to some people, but not to the Cavaliers.
"I always hoped it would, and it is going great so far," Glading said. "Hopefully, we can finish it out just as well as we started it."
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