Spring cannot come soon enough for Virginia men’s lacrosse, which is hoping to bury the demon that was the 2024-25 season. The Cavaliers dropped from a preseason No. 4 ranking to failing to even make the ACC tournament, rounding out the season with their lowest win total in 21 years.
Despite dropping out of the 2024-25 polls entirely by mid-March, Virginia finds itself back in familiar territory, slotted at No. 14 in the country in the Inside Lacrosse pre-season poll thanks to an influx of talented recruits. The Cavaliers not only look to prove themselves worthy of this projection, but also to contend for a national championship — a title that will be decided on Grounds at Scott Stadium in May. This will be the first time a Division I lacrosse team’s college campus has hosted the championship since Rutgers in 2002.
So how can Coach Lars Tiffany and his group right the ship? A glaring issue last year was Virginia’s offense, which was uncharacteristically lethargic and inconsistent. Coming off the 2023-24 season, where Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier combined for 162 points, the Cavaliers had ginormous shoes to fill, which it failed to do, resulting in the lowest-scoring offense in the ACC at just 11 goals per game. The good news for Virginia is that its top three goal-scorers from last season are returning, a trio that accounted for 55 percent of Virginia’s offensive output.
Then-junior attackmen Truitt Sunderland and Ryan Colsey both took big leaps last spring, leading the Cavaliers in scoring with 32 and 29 goals, respectively, after totaling a combined 22 the year prior. As a sophomore, attackman McCabe Millon paced Virginia in assists with 27, serving as the quarterback of the Virginia offense, a large role for a second-year player.
While Sunderland and Colsey improved, neither became the go-to scorer in high-leverage situations that Cormier was. As for Millon, his transition into the field general role Schellenberger left certainly came with growing pains, as his shot accuracy and overall productivity decreased from his freshman season. Now, all upperclassmen with another year together under their belt — Millon, Sunderland and Colsey — figure to display enhanced chemistry and form a formidable attack to compete with the physical defenses of the ACC.
The scoring leaders may look different in 2026, though, as the Cavaliers are welcoming the consensus number one overall prospect in freshman attackman Brendan Millon, the younger brother of McCabe Millon. Brendan enters his college career equipped with a polished game, looking both to score and set up his teammates, mirroring and potentially taking some of the load off of McCabe. If Brendan is able to have an immediate impact similar to McCabe — who led all Division I freshmen in scoring in 2023-24 — Virginia may boast the high-powered offense that Cavalier fans are accustomed to watching, save for last season.
The midfield was the weakest position for the Cavaliers, as getting the ball into the attack also presented problems for Virginia last year. The unit consistently struggled to generate offense in the six-on-six, whether it be scoring, facilitating or simply drawing defenders away from attackmen. This lack of production put a lot of pressure on Millon and company. Clearing the ball was also a weak point for Virginia, as careless passes routinely turned into offensive opportunities for opponents.
Despite no major midfield additions, the Cavaliers will rely on the veteran presence of graduate midfielder Will Inderlied and senior midfielder Charles Balsamo, who transferred from Duke following the 2023-24 season. Virginia also hopes to see a leap from junior midfielder Will Erdmann, who was teammates with Brendan Millon this past summer on the U.S. U20 team that competed at the 2025 World Lacrosse Championships.
While the Cavaliers sputtered on offense, the defense did little to provide aid, allowing the most goals per game in the ACC. The departure of Virginia’s primary creator of havoc and USILA Third Team All-American member, Ben Wayer, certainly does not help either.
Virginia does get reinforcements from another top-10 prospect in freshman defender Robby Hopper. The 6-foot-5 Hopper immediately brings length and stickwork to bolster the back line, and will be paired with senior defender John Schroter, who is a team captain and preseason All-ACC. Schroter can ideally serve as a mentor and anchor for the young group, as the Cavaliers are returning just two defenders who played in all 14 games last season, presenting a lack of experience and potentially maturity that is worth keeping an eye on throughout the season.
Finally, in the cage will be senior goalie Kyle Morris. Morris was in competition with Matthew Nunes throughout last season, ultimately losing out due to Nunes’s athleticism, giving him the edge in the clearing game that Virginia had desperately struggled with when relying solely on the defense and midfield.
With Nunes's graduation, the starting spot is likely Morris’s job to keep. Morris is most memorable for stepping up with clutch saves in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Tournament and then making his first career start in the Final Four a week later. It is not likely Morris will clear using his feet the way Nunes did, but he has shown flashes of his prowess between the poles.
As always, the path will not be easy, as the Cavaliers will face a rigorous slate of non-conference opponents. Following the season opener Sunday against Colgate, who Virginia handled by 10 goals to begin the 2025 season, the Cavaliers will face No. 9 Richmond, No. 15 Johns Hopkins and No. 1 Maryland over the span of a month — all games that Virginia lost last year.
The matchup against Richmond on Feb. 14 will be a great early test for the Cavaliers, a rematch of the week two game from 2025, where the Spiders came into Klöckner Stadium and punched then-No. 4 Virginia in the mouth, handing the Cavaliers the first of their eight losses.
The Doyle Smith Cup against Johns Hopkins Feb. 28 will be a date to circle for Virginia faithful, as the Cavaliers lost a dogfight to the Blue Jays in Baltimore last season in one of the best rivalries in college lacrosse. Virginia will have a chance to reclaim the Cup on home turf this year.
Playing the reigning NCAA runner-up Maryland on the road Mar. 14 will present potentially the most difficult challenge of the season, but it will serve as a reality check to see if Virginia is cut out to compete for a national championship.
April will bring the gauntlet of the ACC, as Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Duke all sit inside the Top-12 in the preseason poll, making each conference matchup daunting yet equally important for making it to the ACC Tournament, something the Cavaliers failed to do in 2025.
While making the conference tournament should be the first postseason priority for Virginia, it would be difficult for the Cavaliers not to be excited by the prospect of playing for a national championship in their own backyard. The NCAA Lacrosse Championship weekend has typically been held at a rotation of Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and M&T Bank Stadium — all homes to NFL teams — since 2003. In the wake of the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to most of those venues, Scott Stadium was chosen instead.
The road to redemption is set for the Cavaliers. Familiar faces will look to build upon sparks of success, and new faces will attempt to mesh quickly and contribute to the winning standard demanded at Virginia. While it will be a tough path, it is nothing new for the Cavaliers. They have a roster loaded with potential and a head coach with a championship pedigree. The sky is the limit for Tiffany and company, and this year, the sky is right in the heart of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Read More
Cavaliers find solace in pair of upsets during loss to rival Hokies
By Joe Schwiesow | 2 hours agoGarland hopes the performances of standouts Porter, Denkins and Washleski will not only continue, but also inspire and embolden their teammates that they can take the same strides.
No. 15 women’s tennis knocked out of ITA National Team Indoor Championship
By Thomas Baxter | 21 hours agoLosing the doubles point ultimately sealed the Cavaliers’ fate — forcing them to hunt for a three-set singles win on one of the lower courts.
Virginia faces staggering odds in upcoming Commonwealth Clash
By Joe Schwiesow | 23 hours agoFriday night, Virginia wrestling hopes to upend No. 7 Virginia Tech in dual action, an upset that would immediately take on a revered place in Virginia wrestling history.
