The Virginia men's lacrosse team hopes to continue its success as it prepares for the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C., this weekend.
Fresh off a 13-6 victory against Dartmouth this past Saturday, in which Virginia (13-1, 2-1 ACC) outshot the Big Green 30 to 10 in a decisive 10-1 second half to overcome a two-goal halftime deficit, the Cavaliers have regained their No. 1 overall national ranking after spending a week at No. 2.
Virginia had been the top-ranked team in the nation since beating then-No. 1 Syracuse in February, but relinquished the top spot to Princeton two weeks ago after a 15-10 loss to ACC rival Duke in Durham, N.C. The Cavaliers are scheduled to face the Blue Devils (10-3, 2-1 ACC) again in the first round of this weekend's tournament.
"It's time to start thinking about a little rematch with Duke," senior attackman Danny Glading said.
Senior attackman Garrett Billings said the team needs to play with more consistency to ensure that a loss does not repeat itself.
"We haven't played offense well for a month, except for [in] the fourth quarter," Billing said. "We just have to get on track, especially for Saturday. We want to play half-decently this time around."
During a dominant 10-game stretch to begin the season, Virginia averaged more than 14 goals per game. But the Cavaliers have seen that total drop to an even 11 goals per game during the past month as they entered the challenging conference portion of their schedule.
Virginia's defense has also trailed off from its strong statistical pace at the start of the season. The Cavaliers allowed less than seven goals per game in those first 10 contests, but surrendered 10 per game in the past month against stiffer competition from their in-conference opponents.
Goals allowed played a pivotal role in the seeding of this weekend's tournament. When Virginia, Duke and Maryland ended conference play tied atop the ACC, with each 1-1 against the other two, the tie was broken according to how many goals each team had surrendered in its games against the other two.
Maryland, having given up 18 goals in those games - Duke and Virginia allowed 21 and 24, respectively - was awarded the top seed and a semifinal matchup against North Carolina, which is hosting the tournament but went winless in conference play this season.
To improve their defense going forward - both for this weekend's tournament and the NCAA Tournament in May - the Cavaliers have increased playing time for some of the younger players on their roster, including sophomore midfielder Rhamel Bratton.
"A lot of times, you don't really see him out there because he's playing defense," Rhamel's brother, sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton said. "He can play defense with the best of them."
This weekend's ACC Championships, with all four teams ranked in the top 15 nationally, will test Virginia's commitment to improving its effectiveness on offense and defense.
The tournament's other semifinal features No. 12 Maryland, which took the Cavaliers to seven overtimes before falling in a memorable 10-9 contest in Charlottesville this March, and No. 8 North Carolina, which Virginia defeated 11-10 in a closely contested match earlier this month at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
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