The plan was to, well, see how things were going, feel it out.
Senior Kyle Morris was starting in goal against Drexel on Friday. That much was clear. Virginia, by tradition, starts its seniors on Senior Day.
But when would he switch with graduate Jake Marek? That was nebulous.
Coach Lars Tiffany and his staff convened at the end of the first quarter. Morris had two saves. He’d conceded zero goals.
“What do you think now?” Tiffany said he asked the staff. “We were a little split. We said, ‘Let’s keep it going a little bit more.’”
Two minutes and 34 seconds into the second quarter, Morris allowed his first goal, and Tiffany turned down the sideline and hooked a finger at Marek, the usual starter. Marek played about 36 minutes, and Morris returned late in the blowout.
Combined, Morris and Marek made 16 saves in No. 12 Virginia’s 17-6 win over Drexel — and the goalie position again manifested as a real bonus for Virginia. As it has been since a month ago, when Marek started stonewalling almost every opponent he faced.
The fact that the goalies needed to be so good, though, was troubling.
“We needed our goalies to bail us out a lot, and they did,” Tiffany said. “That’s why they call them saves.”
Virginia led 8-1 and 16-4 at points during its resounding win Friday, powering into next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Its play over the last six weeks has propelled burgeoning, though optimistic, hopes of reaching Championship Weekend in Scott Stadium and of winning a first ACC Tournament since 2019.
But as the postseason commences this week, Virginia will have to account for what has been a less-than-soundproof defense.
The numbers are not kind. Virginia’s scoring defense coming into Friday ranked 51st of the 78 teams in Division I, and though that can be explained by the team’s blistering tempo and grueling schedule, its defensive efficiency rating cannot. In that category, Virginia, per lacrossereference.com, ranked 45th before Friday.
Even the program’s man-down defense, top in the nation a year ago within a scoring defense ranked 38th, has dropped off a cliff this season, to 36th in the country. Virginia allowed four consecutive man-down goals April 18 against North Carolina.
“We have to work on our man-down and make sure that gets tightened up,” Tiffany said then. “I don’t know if we were as stellar as we can be, so we gotta be cleaned up on the defense as well.”
There have been sieve-like performances, like Richmond’s 18-goal pyrotechnics. There have also been more stingy outings, like Notre Dame’s nine goals.
Try six. That’s how many goals Drexel scored Friday. It’s a pleasant number, neat and tidy, viewed from afar. Virginia has not kept a tally lower since 2024, when Drexel managed only four goals.
But ignore the number. Look a little closer at a team that needs to be at its best with some of the best teams in the country converging next week on Charlotte.
How did the defense feel about the performance Friday?
“I felt all right,” senior defender John Schroter said. “I think our goalies made us look really good.”
Tiffany, the team’s defensive coach, will often stand a few paces onto the field, frozen with hands on hips, when his team allows a goal he dislikes. He looks a little like a disappointed father in these moments, and he struck the pose a few times Friday. He mainly took issue with his team’s sliding.
“When we start to slide, if we do fully double the ball,” Tiffany said, “we’re sloppy with our recoveries. We gotta be cleaner, especially when you’re playing against the better teams that we’ll see in the ACC.”
Drexel has a high-voltage offense when given breathing room, 14th in the country in scoring offense coming into the game, ninth in points per game, fifth in assists per game. It does not spell disaster that the Dragons got some good looks.
Virginia also played without two of its most influential defensive players, freshman long-stick midfielder Robby Hopper and sophomore defender Michael Meredith, who left the game after a crunching hit. Hopper walked around with a boot on one foot. Tiffany gave no official word on either of their injuries, only noting that he is hoping to return them, along with senior attacker Ryan Colsey.
“We are really hoping to get all of them back,” Tiffany said. “That was maybe part of the reason we weren't playing our great defense, when two of our top four defenders aren't playing.”
Virginia’s ability to make a run in either postseason tournament may depend in large part on returning the pair of defensemen. Meredith has evolved into Virginia’s second lockdown defender behind Schroter, and Hopper, the overwhelmingly talented freshman, has been a ground ball hunting, over-the-head check-throwing dervish.
Either way, Virginia’s games in Charlotte may prove pivotal. The NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Selection Committee ranked the Cavaliers 10th April 17, before Virginia’s loss to North Carolina. There are eight at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
Tiffany’s message, though? One thing at a time.
“First and foremost, I want to win an ACC Tournament,” Tiffany said. “We make a big deal out of that. Our locker room doesn't show ACC regular-season titles, but it shows ACC Tournament championships. That's what we're striving for right now.”
Tiffany said Friday he had not looked at bracketology, and senior attacker Truitt Sunderland echoed that. Schroter acknowledged the thought is at least present, on everyone’s mind, in murmurs, even if the team is trying to stay in the moment.
That means focusing on the quality of the performances before the postseason kicks off Friday.
“This was an important game,” Tiffany said. “Are we going to go into there playing at the next level? Can we keep the race to improve? Can we keep striving for that?”
Read More
Cavaliers topple Stanford to capture second-straight ACC title
By Stephen O'Dea | 7 hours agoAfter suffering heartbreak just a year ago in the NCAA Championship final against Oklahoma State, the Cavaliers cemented themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the ACC.
Several Virginia football alumni earn NFL opportunities post-draft
By Xander Tilock | 20 hours agoFor the first time since 2021, no Virginia football alumni were selected in the NFL Draft. As of Sunday, though, five Cavaliers signed undrafted free agent deals and three more received invitations to an organization’s rookie camp.
Virginia dominates in throws at Penn Relays
By Caroline Wulff | YesterdaySandkulla threw a distance of 67.13 meters, steadily progressing in each of her first four throws and placing the highest on her fifth. She was not too far from her personal record of 67.31 meters either, and was over six meters ahead of the runner up.
