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Lax preps for spotlight

Pressure of No. 1 ranking, title defense bears down on talented squad

Following an enthralling 2011 championship campaign, the unanimous preseason No. 1 Virginia men's lacrosse team aims to handle the pressure of massive expectations and win a second consecutive national title when it opens its 2012 season this weekend.

As in 2011, Virginia enters the season as the clear favorite to win the championship, with both the USILA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse polls deeming the Cavaliers the nation's top squad. Coach Dom Starsia, however, recognizes the mania building around his players will only make the challenge of winning more difficult.

"There's a reason why there aren't a lot of teams that win back-to-back, but we sort of put [the ranking] out there early on and talked about it," Starsia said. "I think everyone has accepted the challenge and understands that we have our work cut out for us."

Given the exhilarating nature of the team's championship run last season, the threat of post-championship complacency looms large. After a solid but slightly disappointing regular season performance, Virginia caught fire in the NCAA tournament and capped a season-ending five game win streak with a barn-burner 9-7 win against archrival Maryland in the final.

"It was such a sort of electrifying end to 2011 that I was very interested in the effect that all that would have in 2012, and I don't think it's so easily predictable," Starsia said. "But we're off to a good start, kids came back in good shape, so I think we're all anxious to get to it."

Much of the favorable forecast for the Cavaliers stems from the formidableness of their returning roster. Four of Virginia's five 2011 All-Americans return in 2012, including reigning Tewaaraton Trophy winner senior attacker Steele Stanwick and Championship Most Outstanding Player redshirt senior midfielder Colin Briggs.

Starsia also attracted several high-profile recruits in the offseason, such as Inside Lacrosse's No. 5 ranked attacker Carl Walrath and No. 8 midfielder Ryan Tucker.

"We've got a good group coming back," Starsia said. "A good corps of older guys so we have strong leadership and some interesting young players, so it's a good mix of guys."

On the field Virginia will rely on an arsenal of gifted attackers to light up the scoreboard and offset last year's graduation of veteran goalie Adam Ghitelman. Stanwick and 2011 leading goal-scorer junior attacker Chris Bocklet look likely to spearhead the Cavaliers' offensive attack after combining for a staggering 119 points last season. Briggs also provides a promising scoring option from his midfield post, having tallied 29 goals in 2011.

For Starsia, the offensive trio's experience and leadership may prove just as vital to the team's prospects as will its undeniable on-field prowess.

"It's the way you hope your program operates, which is that you have the older guys giving you a hand on the field with the younger guys," Starsia said. "We need those guys to assume some of that responsibility."

Several other contributors in both midfield and defense return to help Virginia claim a second consecutive crown. Tucker, senior midfielder Ryan Benincasa and junior midfielder Chris LaPierre will handle many of the team's face-offs, Starsia said, and defensive stalwarts senior Matt Lovejoy and sophomore Scott McWilliams will look to anchor a veteran defensive group.

Senior goalie Rob Fortunato will replace Ghitelman in goal, although Starsia cited redshirt freshman goalie Austin Geisler as another viable option between the pipes. Despite the two goalies' outstanding offseasons, Starsia has stressed clearing the ball from goal as an area of concern in early practices to preempt any potential problems on the back end.

"Even though it really hasn't reared its ugly head in the early season practices, we're just going to assume it's an issue and spend a lot of extra time on it," Starsia said.

Once again, the Cavaliers faces some serious competition to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Virginia will play eight teams currently ranked in the preseason top 20. In 2011, the squad lost all five of its games to teams ranked in the top 11.

Starsia still said his men possess the intangible toughness to withstand the steep competition and even steeper expectations surrounding Virginia's 2012 season to again reach the summit of college lacrosse.

"I told the guys to smile about it in the sense that we have earned the right to deal with this 'dilemma,' if you will," Starsia said. "It's not a lot different expecting to get teams' best games against us ... and we just got to respond to it and react to it."

The Cavaliers travel to Philadelphia Saturday to play No. 20 Drexel at 2 p.m.

"I do feel like we're a mature enough program to understand that what we're really interested in is going to be determined [in] a couple months," Starsia added.

 

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