The final seconds of the 2007 Virginia men's lacrosse season opener versus Drexel are planted firmly in the back of the Cavaliers' minds as they prepare to take on the Dragons once more Sunday. Last year, Virginia blew a one-goal lead with 10 seconds left, Drexel attackman Colin Ambler scored twice before the final buzzer and propelled the Dragons to a 11-10 upset victory.
While No. 3 Virginia is determined to start the 2008 season on a different note, the Cavaliers are not looking to exact revenge but rather to prove that they are the better team.
"Everyone is aware of what happened last year and I think it helps to get everyone's attention going into the game this year," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "Our job is to be ready to play -- no one is going to hand us anything, and if we are going to turn around and beat Drexel on their field this year then we have to be ready and we have to be playing our best lacrosse."
Having learned their lesson, the Cavaliers are not taking Sunday's game lightly and nor should they. The Dragons are ranked No. 19 in the nation, and Inside Lacrosse ranked their man-down defense the second-best nationwide behind Ohio State's. What's more, their clearing abilities rank third, while their defensive unit and face-off unit were both ranked sixth nationally by the publication.
Going into the season opener, the Cavaliers ended the preseason undefeated. They knocked off Navy 10-6 two weeks ago and Georgetown 7-5 this past weekend. Nevertheless, Starsia indicated he was not entirely pleased with Virginia's performance in those matchups and feels that his team can, and will, improve.
"We aren't where we had hoped to be when we looked at us back in the fall, when we had Ben [Rubeor] healthy and we had a bunch of the middies healthy," Starsia said. "We have been a bit of a work in progress on offense these first couple of weeks but we have to find a way to be effective and successful while we try and work some people back into the fold. We aren't making any excuses -- we have the pieces we need to get this done, and I think I have seen some of our best lacrosse to date during practice this past week."
Up until Tuesday, the question of who would start in the Virginia net remained undecided. Senior Bud Petit, sophomore Mark Wade and freshman Adam Ghitelman each gave strong performances during the preseason, but ultimately Ghitelman earned the regular season start.
"My heart started pumping as Dom walked over to where the goalies warm up, the side of the field he doesn't usually come to," Ghitelman said. "He kind of said nonchalantly 'You are going to be in goal on Sunday,' and I said 'thank you' and just shook his hand. Since I was a little kid I have dreamed of playing here, so this really is a dream come true."
Touted the top goalie and overall No. 9 among incoming freshmen in the country by Inside Lacrosse magazine, Ghitelman has lived up to the accolades that preceded his arrival at Virginia. Starsia, usually wary of leaning too hard on his newest players, said he is confident he made the right choice.
"I think he won the job over a period of six months because he has been the most consistent," Starsia said. "The choice was always a close call, but I thought it was a clear choice at the very end because he gives us the best chance to be successful right now. He has uncommon poise for a first-year and he is our best chance to win."
Sunday's match will be shown on CN8, a Philadephia station broadcast in Charlottesville.
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