The Virginia men's lacrosse team will try to follow its comeback victory against North Carolina last Saturday with a win against Duke tomorrow night at Klöckner Stadium.
The Cavaliers (10-1, 1-1 ACC) need to win to maintain pace with the Blue Devils (11-1, 2-0 ACC) in the ACC. Duke is currently ranked No. 1 in the country by the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Men's Division I Media Poll.
"I do think that Duke is the best team in the country," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "They have more experience than everybody else ... Most of the rest of us are trying to close that gap with Duke."
No one will need motivation come Saturday night. The Blue Devils are led by a strong group of poised fourth and fifth-year seniors who know how to win in a hostile environment. The Cavaliers will rely on their mix of young talent and gritty veterans to try to pull out a win. Senior midfielder Peter Lamade, a graduate Education student who graduated from Duke last year, will seek to play a role in helping the young Cavalier team prevail.
"I am playing with Shamel [Bratton], who is in his first year, and Brian [Carroll], who is only in his second," Lamade said. "They are great, but experience is a huge advantage that Duke has."
The Cavaliers are in unfamiliar territory because they are not usually the consensus underdog when playing at Klöckner. The team also has not played up to its potential recently, despite pulling out a victory against the Tar Heels.
"We didn't play badly against North Carolina, nor nearly as badly as we felt we did at the end of the Maryland game," Starsia said. "But we didn't play well enough. We were fortunate to win last week's game."
Starsia said the team's effort in the last five minutes against North Carolina demonstrates how the Cavaliers need to perform regularly as a team.
"If we can get to that level on a more consistent basis then we have a chance to be a dangerous team as we head towards the playoffs," Starsia said.
After the game Virginia will see where it stands after facing one of the best teams in the country and, if it wins a high-profile conference game at home, the team could regain its mental edge for the last stretch of the season. To help the Cavaliers prevail Saturday night, Starsia said he will stick with experience in goal by starting senior Bud Petit, who also started the North Carolina game.
"The coach wouldn't put me out there if he didn't have faith in me," Petit said, adding that he has faith in the team and is using the last three minutes of the North Carolina game as something to build on going into the Duke game.
"We have a lot of pride in this locker room," Petit said. "Regardless of what happens Saturday, we will be fighting until the end"
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