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Men's Lacrosse Meets Duke at ACC Tournament
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April 17, 1998
10th Annual ACC Tournament
The 10th Annual Atlantic Coast Conference men’s lacrosse tournament begins tonight at Kloeckner Stadium on the grounds of the University of Virginia.
Top-seed Maryland and fourth-seed North Carolina face-off in the first game at 6:00 p.m. Second-seed Virginia and third-seed Duke battle at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Records & Rankings
Below are each team’s record (overall and ACC) and its national ranking in this week’s poll.
Seed, School Overall ACC Nat'l Rank1. Maryland 8-1 3-0 22. Virginia 5-3 2-1 53. Duke 8-2 1-2 64. North Carolina 4-6 0-3 14
Tonight’s Game
Virginia and Duke meet this evening at UVa’s Kloeckner Stadium in a rematch of last Saturday’s ACC encounter. The Cavaliers, ranked fifth in this week’s poll, have a 5-3 overall record (2-1 in the ACC) this spring and are the second seed in the tournament. The Blue Devils are ranked sixth this week with an 8-2 overall record (1-2 in the ACC).
The Series vs. the Blue Devils
Virginia leads the all-time series with Duke 40-12, including 22-4 in games in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers have won the last four meetings with the Blue Devils over the last three seasons. Duke hasn’t beaten the Cavaliers since a 17-10 win in 1995 ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C.
UVa has won the last three meetings in Charlottesville, including last weekend’s 12-11 victory. The Cavaliers defeated the Blue Devils 12-6 in the championship game of last season’s ACC Tournament in Charlottesville. Virginia also downed Duke in the first round of the 1994 ACC Tournament (in a game played at Scott Stadium).
Duke’s last win in Charlottesville was a 9-8 win at Kloeckner Stadium in the 1994 regular season meeting.
Virginia in the ACC Tournament
The Cavaliers secured their first ACC Tournament championship with a 12-6 win over Duke in last season’s title game at Kloeckner Stadium. (Virginia defeated North Carolina 17-13 in the first round.)
But overall the ACC Tournament hasn’t been as fruitful for the Cavaliers as they are just 5-8 in nine tournament appearances.
Virginia advanced to the finals in 1990-94-96 (all losses to North Carolina) before winning last season’s title.
The Cavaliers were defeated in the first round in 1989-91-92-93-95.
The Cavaliers are 3-1 vs. Duke, 1-2 vs. Maryland and 1-5 vs. North Carolina.
ACC Tournament Returns to UVa
This is the fifth time the University of Virginia has hosted the ACC Tournament (also hosted in 1990-94-96-97). And perhaps it’s not surprising that the Cavaliers have had their best tournament success on their home field since they have advanced to the finals every time they have hosted. Virginia has never advanced to the ACC finals when UVa did not host.
The Last Time Out …
Virginia posted a come-from-behind 12-11 triumph over the then third-ranked Duke last Saturday at Kloeckner Stadium. The Blue Devils held an 11-9 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers scored three times in the final stanza, including Tucker Radebaugh’s game-winner with 9:33 to play.
Virginia goalie Chris Sanderson made five fourth quarter saves, but none bigger than his save of a Scott Diggs shot with 27 seconds remaining to snuff Duke’s bid to tie. Sanderson finished with 13 saves in the game.
The Cavaliers went up early with a goal in the first quarter, but Duke scored a pair to gain the lead. The Cavaliers answered with a pair of their own to go up 3-2. The teams traded goals for the first quarter, which ended in a tie at 5-5. Duke took the early lead in the second quarter, but Virginia went on a 4-0 run in the last six minutes of the half to take the halftime lead 9-6.
Duke came out strong in the second half and scored two goals in the first two minutes to cut the deficit to 9-8. The Blue Devils tied it up six minutes into the third quarter and then scored twice in the final four minutes of the quarter to take an 11-9 lead into game’s final 15 minutes.
Tucker Radebaugh paced the Cavalier attack with four goals, including two in the crucial fourth quarter comeback. Drew McKnight had a career-high five assists.
Two Cavaliers Named All-ACC
Drew Melchionni and Tucker Radebaugh were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team this season. This is the first time either player has been so honored.
Melchionni, a senior from Garden City, N.Y., has been a mainstay in the midfield throughout his career. He is third on the team with 16 goals this season and was a preseason All-American.
Radebaugh, a junior from Glen Arm, Md., is one of the nation’s most versatile players who excells in both midfield and the attack. He leads the ACC in scoring (39 points) and goals (24) this season. His brother Dan was an All-ACC performer at Maryland in 1995.
Starsia Ties Thiel for Second All-Time
With Virginia’s dramatic 12-11 win over Duke last Saturday, head coach Dom Starsia tied Glenn Thiel (1970-77) for second place on UVa’s all-time win list with 63. Starsia’s Cavalier squads have compiled a 63-22 (.741) record in six seasons. Theil’s record at Virginia was 63-30 (.677).
Jim Adams is Virginia’s all-time leader with a 137-60 (.695) record from 1978-92.
Starsia, who coached at Brown University from 1983-92, has a 164-68 (.707) record in 16 years as a head coach.
Starsia is 21-18 vs. the ACC all-time (1-6 vs. UVa, 8-2 vs. Duke, 7-5 vs. North Carolina, and 5-5 vs. Maryland). He is 8-5 vs. the Ivy League since coming to UVa (3-5 vs. Princeton, 2-0 vs. Brown,1-0 vs. Harvard, and 2-0 vs. Penn). Starsia is a two-time winner of the Morris Touchstone award (Division I Coach of the Year, 1985 and 1991).
His 100th win came in 1992, when his Brown squad topped Cornell to wrap up an NCAA bid. His Brown teams were Ivy League champions twice (1985 and 1991) and went to the NCAAs four of his last six seasons (he is 9-10 overall in NCAA play). He has a 50-23 record vs. Ivy league teams, including 8-5 while at UVa. He had never played lacrosse prior to attending Brown. In 1992, Starsia was honored by the Rhode Island Organization of Sportswriters and Sportscasters with the Frank Lanning Award (lifetime achievement of overall contribution to the Rhode Island sports community).
Starsia was named ACC Co-Coach of the year for 1995, and he was picked as the 1997 ACC Coach of the Year. Four of his five UVa squads have finished the regular season in first place in the ACC. Starsia is 8-2 vs Duke, lifetime (including 7-2 at UVa), and he is 7-2 vs. Duke mentor Mike Pressler.
The Starting Line-Up
Virginia’s starting line-up went through several phases early in the season as the Cavaliers battled a series of injuries to key players, but the team is rounding into shape for the final push for the postseason.
The expected line-up (with scoring to date indicated) is– Drew McKnight (11g +21a =32pts, was injured early on, now playing again), Jay Jalbert (18+8=26), and Tucker Radebaugh (24+15=39) on attack; David Wren (9+0=9, out vs. Princeton with illness; now back playing), Drew Melchionni (16+6=22), and Jason Hard (3+1=4) on midfield; and Penn Leachman (0 ), Ryan Curtis (0, was injured, playing again), and Doug Davies (0) on defense. The goalie should be Chris Sanderson (89 saves, 68 goals allowed; injured vs. Princeton, did not dress vs. UMass, returned vs. Johns Hopkins).
The faceoff man used the most often has been Jason Hard (66 of 157). David Jenkins (20 of 39) spells Hard as the face off man. Peter Ragosa (1+1=2) is the first long stick defender on the field. Freshman Hanley Holcomb missed the first six games of the season due to illness and returned to action against North Carolina on April 4 to give the Cavaliers added depth in the midfield.
Cavaliers Find Kloeckner to Their Liking
Virginia has found playing at Kloeckner Stadium much to its liking throughout the years. The Cavaliers are 22-4 all-time at Kloeckner Stadium, including last Saturday’s dramatic 12-11 win over Duke.
However, two of the Cavaliers’ losses at Kloeckner have come in the ACC Tournament (1994, ’96 to North Carolina). Duke handed Virginia a 9-8 loss at Kloeckner in 1994.
The Cavaliers also lost to Johns Hopkins 13-10 at Kloeckner Stadium earlier this season.
Virginia has won 16 of its last 18 games at Kloeckner dating back to the end of the 1994 season.
This is the fourth time the ACC Tournament has been held at Kloeckner Stadium and the Cavaliers have advanced to the finals every time.
One Goal Decides the Last Game
Despite last week’s remarkable comeback against Duke that resulted in a 12-11 victory, the Cavaliers have not typically been smiling after one-goal games.
Under head coach Dom Starsia, the Cavalier are 8-10 in games decided by one goal and have lost all five postseason contests (either ACC or NCAA Tournaments).
A look at Virginia’s one-goal games under Starsia is below. UVa wins are listed in bold.
1993 UMass 10-9 Maryland 11-10 ot North Carolina 13-12 ot at Hofstra 5-6 ot at Maryland (ACC) 8-9 ot1994 Duke 8-9 vs. Syracuse (NCAA) 15-14 ot vs. Princeton (NCAA) 8-9 ot1995 Maryland 12-11 ot1996 vs. Brown 16-15 at North Carolina 18-19 vs. Princeton (NCAA) 12-13 ot1997 at Syracuse 21-22 at Princeton 13-14 ot Maryland 15-14 2ot at Maryland (NCAA) 9-101998 Syracuse 17-18 ot Duke 12-11
Scoring Down in ’98
The Cavaliers have been known as one of the most prolific scoring teams in the nation throughout the 1990s. They have scored more than 250 goals in each of the last four seasons, including a school-record 275 in 1996. They have also averaged at least 15.0 goals per game in the last four seasons.
But with the loss of Doug Knight and Michael Watson from last year’s squad, the Cavaliers have not been quite so explosive this season. They have scored 101 goals in eight games, an average of 12.6 goals per game. That is the lowest figure since the 1989 squad averaged 10.5 goals per game.
And while the offense is down from a year ago, the defense is up. The Cavalier defense is allowing just 9.5 goals per game (down somewhat from 9.7 goals per game a year ago).
Holding the Opposition to Single Digits
Virginia has had remarkable success this season when holding the opposition to fewer than 10 goals, winning all four games.
That contrasts to a 1-3 mark when the other team scores as least 10 goals. The 12-11 win over Duke last Saturday is the only time this season the Cavaliers have won when allowed 10 or more goals.
The Cavaliers have won 22 consecutive contests (dating back to 1995) when they allow less than 10 goals.
Sluggish After Halftime
The Cavaliers have led at halftime in six games this season (all but Johns Hopkins and Maryland–both losses). But they have had some trouble maintaining the intensity in the third quarter, which was most evident against Duke last Saturday.
The Cavaliers held a 9-5 advantage at the break, but the Blue Devils out-scored Virginia 5-0 in the third period to take the lead. The homestanding Wahoos turned the tables on the visitors from Durham by out-scoring the Blue Devils 3-0 in the final 15 minutes to gain the win.
Virginia trailed Maryland 6-4 in a key match-up in College Park late last month. The Terrapins then out-scored Virginia 6-2 in the third quarter to put the game away and win 14-9.
Newcomers Dot Roster
Among the newcomers to watch this season are: John Harvey (D, St. George’s School and Darien, Conn.); Hanley Holcomb (M, Salisbury School and Ridgewood, N.J.); David Jenkins (M, Taft School and Dedham, Mass., 20 of 39 faceoffs); James Kenny (M, Garden City HS and Garden City, N.Y.); Evan Mancini (M, Hotchkiss School and Gulph Mills, Pa.); Jamison Mullen (A, St. Mary’s HS and Annapolis, Md.; 3+1=4); Ian Shure (A, Boy’s Latin School and Lutherville, Md.; 2+1=3); and Aaron Vercollone (M, Boy’s Latin School and Lutherville, Md., 0+1=1). Defenseman Court Weisleder (Taft School and Bay Head, N.J.) transferred from Tufts and has three years of eligibility remaining.
Seven Receive Preseason Recognition
Seven Cavaliers were named preseason All-Americans for this season–M David Wren (first team), D Ryan Curtis (second), M Drew Melchionni (second), A Jay Jalbert (honorable mention), A Drew McKnight (honorable mention), A/M Tucker Radebaugh (honorable mention) and D Karl Zeller (honorable mention).