Before heading south to begin postseason play, the Virginia men’s lacrosse team will wrap up its regular season at home Saturday against unranked Dartmouth.
The Cavaliers (12-1, 2-1), currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, saw their hopes of an undefeated regular season come to an end last Saturday as the squad fell to Duke 15-10.
“It’s never good to lose, but if there was a better time to lose, it would be right now,” senior captain Danny Glading. “It gives us a chance to regroup right before the playoffs. It refocuses us and makes us work a little bit harder at practice every day because we know that you can’t take for granted our success in the past and all the work that we’ve put into it.”
This week presents an opportunity for the team to seize both redemption and momentum. Virginia held the No. 1 ranking in the country for eight weeks before its loss in Durham. Though Virginia’s three wins prior to the defeat were by narrow margins, it still entered the matchup dominating the ACC in goals, assists and shots.
“We really haven’t been on top of our game the last few weeks of play,” sophomore goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman said. “Duke was a good reality check for us. You can’t win every one.”
With the exception of a close four-goal win last year, Virginia has had little trouble handling Dartmouth in the past. The Big Green, however, enter Saturday’s game riding the momentum of their first Ivy League win of the season against Yale last night in overtime.
Senior captain and attackman Brian Koch, who has tallied 21 goals thus far — one of which was the game-winner against Yale — leads the Dartmouth attack. Dartmouth, which is 4-8 on the season, has only averaged eight points per game. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, average 13 points per contest.
The Cavaliers will need to focus on transition play, ball control and overall time of possession if they wish to reel in a win against the Big Green. Although Virginia is 12-1 this year, the team squeaked by in several of those wins, including a seven-overtime thriller against Maryland.
“We know that when we get into close games, we’re willing to adjust to defensive styles we need and we have guys that can make the big time goals,” Glading said. “I think that helps our confidence going into the playoffs.”
Should the game come down to the wire, Virginia will look to use its highly touted deep roster to its advantage. The Cavaliers not only boast a deep bench, but also a handful of explosive players in the starting line.
Virginia attack Glading, sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton, senior attackman Garrett Billings and senior midfielder Mike Timms were among 21 players announced this week as nominees for the 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded annually to the top collegiate player in Division I.
Bratton has proved to be an offensive weapon in his second year, scoring 21 goals — already seven more than last season — to rank sixth nationally in scoring among midfielders. With 29 points, Bratton has twice been named ACC Player of the Week this spring.
Billings currently ranks eighth in the nation with 44 points and has contributed 29 goals this season. He has led the team in goals on three occasions this season.
Glading, meanwhile, leads the team in total points (45) and assists (23), while ranking third in goals (22). He is sixth in the country in assists and seventh in total points. Timms, on the other hand, has established himself as one of the most dominant longstick midfielders in the country.
If Virginia combines its strong roster with a full 60 minutes of focus, Dartmouth could be hard-pressed to beat the No. 2 team in the nation.
“Usually we’ll get going for a quarter or two, but we need to start gelling and putting full games together,” Bratton said. “Playing well against Dartmouth will definitely be a right step in the way.”
Following the Dartmouth matchup, Virginia will return to Durham to face Duke in the first round of the ACC playoffs next week.
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