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March 12, 2000
Virginia Cavaliers (1-1) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-1)
March 14, 2000
4:00 p.m.
Yurcak Field
Piscataway, N.J.
Game Info
Virginia plays its first road game of the season this afternoon against theRutgers Scarlet Knights. Faceoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.The Cavaliers got their first win of the season last Saturday with aconvincing 15-8 win over the second-ranked Princeton Tigers inCharlottesville. The win evened UVa’s record at 1-1 on the season.Rutgers also gained its first win of the season Saturday with a 19-10 winat home over Radford. The Scarlet Knights are also 1-1 this season.Virginia hasn’t won its first road game of the season since 1995’s 11-4 winat Princeton.
The Series vs. the Scarlet Knights
Virginia will attempt to even the all-time series with Rutgers at four winsapiece this afternoon. The Scarlet Knights won three of the first fourmeetings in the series that began in 1950, but the Cavaliers have drawncloser by winning two of the last three.
The teams met last year for the first time in the regular season since 1967(with an NCAA Tournament match-up in 1990) with Virginia posting a 24-6 winin Charlottesville. Conor Gill scored all five of his goals in the firstquarter to lead the Cavalier attack. His five goals in a quarter arebelieved to be a school record. UVa scored 12 goals in the opening 15minutes and held a 17-3 lead at halftime. Overall 13 different playersscored goals for the Cavaliers, who played everyone except fifth-stringgoalie George Greczmiel.
The Cavaliers’ 24 goals last season is the most they have ever scoredagainst Rutgers, and in fact is the only time they have reached doublefigures vs. the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers has scored a high of 10 goals twice against UVa-in 1957 and 1958.Both 10-8 Rutgers wins.
A win today would also mark Virginia’s first ever win at Rutgers. TheCavaliers fell on the Scarlet Knights’ home field in 1957-58-66. Rutgershas won the three game by a combined nine goals.
Despite trailing in the series, Virginia has outscored Rutgers 68-54. Thisis due primarily to last season’s outcome.
Two games have been decided by one goal (1950, ’90) with each team winningonce.
Starting Lineup Settling In
Virginia’s roster this season features seven returning starters and 21other lettermen from last season to give head coach Dom Starsia and hisstaff the luxury of not having to do too much tinkering to settle on astarting 10.
Returning on attack are Drew McKnight and Conor Gill. McKnight, a senior,has been a mainstay in the lineup since his arrival three years ago. Gillproved himself last year by winning the ACC Rookie of the Year Award andbeing named the MVP of the NCAA Tournament. Joining them on attack isexpected to be sophomore Ian Shure. Shure missed all of last season due toa knee injury, but has returned to full strength. He is a gifted offensiveplayer who saw limited action as a freshman in 1998.
Jay Jalbert returns to anchor what is a very deep midfield this season.Faceoff specialist Jason Hard and highly regarded freshman A.J. Shannonjoin Jalbert on the first unit. Fifth-year player David Bruce, a convertedattackman, and junior Hanley Holcomb form the nucleus of the second unit.
Freshman Chris Rotelli rounds out this group. The third midfield consistsof Jamison Mullen, Will Quayle and Aaron Vercollone. David Jenkins,Brenndan Mohler and Nick Russo also see plenty of action in the midfield,primarily in defensive midfield roles.
Hard and d Jenkins continue to alternate as faceoff specialists, whilePeter Ragosa is the top long stick middie once again. Richard Reid and TreyWhitty will also see time at long stick middie.
All three starting defensemen from the end of last season return. RyanCurtis, the nation’s top defensemen, headlines the returnees. He is joinedin the starting trio by Mark Koontz and Court Weisleder. John Harvey is thetop sub, but freshmen Ned Bowen and David Burman figure to see actionduring the season.
Derek Kenney returns in goal after starting last season as a freshman. Hewill be backed up by local product Ben O’Neil again this season.
Cavaliers Trounce Princeton for First Win
David Bruce scored three goals and Conor Gill two to spark a five-goalVirginia run that propelled the third-ranked Cavaliers to a 15-8 win oversecond-ranked Princeton Saturday afternoon at UVa’s Kl?ckner Stadium.
The visiting Tigers opened an early 4-2 lead midway through the firstquarter before the Cavalier attack got going. Gill scored with 4:34 left inthe opening quarter to cut Princeton’s lead to 4-3. Bruce tied the score atfour 28 seconds later by knocking in a loose ball in front of the goal.Gill put the Cavaliers in the lead for good early in the second quarterwith his second goal of the afternoon as he beat goalie Trevor Tierney witha shot in close.
Bruce scored twice in a span of 36 seconds to give the Cavaliers a 7-4 leaden route to a 7-5 lead at halftime.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to as many as seven goals (13-6) with asix-goal third quarter. Virginia’s faceoff duo of Jason Hard and DavidJenkins won eight of 10 faceoffs during the period to give UVa good scoringopportunities.
Bruce and Drew McKnight paced the Cavaliers with three goals apiece. Gill,Jalbert and Jenkins added two goals each. Gill, the quarterback of theVirginia attack, contributed four assists, while McKnight added three.Goalie Derek Kenney went the whole way for Virginia, registering 11 saves.Virginia’s defense played aggressively throughout the game and gave up onlyfour goals in the last 50 minutes of the game.
The game marked the first time since 1995 that Princeton allowed as many as15 goals in one game. It was also Princeton’s worst margin of defeat sincean 11-4 loss to UVa in 1995.
Bruce Notches Three Twice
When David Bruce decided to return for his fifth year this season he wasn’tsure what his role would be for head coach Dom Starsia. He missed all ofthe 1998 campaign due to a knee injury and played on the second attack unitlast season. With Drew McKnight, Conor Gill and Ian Shure penciled into thestarting attack this season, Bruce volunteered to move to the midfielddespite never having played there in college before, to get more time.Whatever Bruce lacked for experience in the midfield, he makes up for withexperience. And he’s put his experience to good use so far this youngseason.
Finding himself in the right place at the right time, Bruce hascapitalized on virtually all of his scoring chances so far this season.In the season opening loss to Syracuse, Bruce scored three times, with allthree scores coming from point-blank range.
Bruce’s scoring parade continued in last Saturday’s win over Princeton ashe scored three times for the second game in a row. All three goals came injust over a nine-minute span in the middle of the first half and helpederase an early deficit.
With six goals in just two games, Bruce has already equalled his total ofall of last season. His 11 goals as a sophomore in 1997 is his career high.
Virginia in Road Openers
After opening the season at home with games against Syracuse and Princeton,this is the Cavaliers’ first road game of the season. Virginia has beenshaky during in its first road game recently, losing four consecutive roadopeners. The last time Virginia won its first road game of the season wasan 11-4 win at Princeton in 1995.
Under head coach Dom Starsia Virginia is 3-4 in road openers. All-time theCavaliers are 28-37-1 in road openers.
Virginia Falls Behind Early in Both This Season
One of Virginia’s problems early this season has been a tendency to fallbehind early.
In the season opener the Cavaliers dug themselves a first quarter holeagainst Syracuse, falling behind 5-2 after the first 15 minutes. Theyfought valiantly to comeback and tied the score in the third quarter beforetrading goals the rest of the way as the contest went into overtime. TheVirginia comeback proved not enough as the Orangemen won in overtime.
Last Saturday’s win over Princeton, the Cavaliers again dug themselves anearly hole, giving up three goals in less than four minutes of play. Butled by David Bruce and Conor Gill, who scored every goal in a five-goalrun, the Cavaliers erased a 4-2 deficit to take the lead for good with justless than 10 minutes to go in the first half. Princeton managed to close towithin 7-5 at the half, but the Cavaliers rattled off four quick thirdquarter scores to build a cushion the rest of the way.
Defense Stiffens in Second Half
Virginia has found itself in two tight contests at halftime so far thisseason, leading once and trailing once.
The Cavaliers fell behind to Syracuse 9-5 in the season opener and thenblanked the Orangemen in the third quarter. The shutout that period enabledVirginia to claw its way back into the contest, eventually knotting thescore and forcing overtime.
UVa got off to a slow start offensively (and defensively) in the Princetongame last Saturday, falling behind 4-2 after 15 minutes of play. ButVirginia used an 11-2 run in the second and third periods to build a 13-6lead at one point. Entering the fourth quarter with a 13-8 lead, theCavalier defense pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter and handed theTigers their first loss of the season.
Freshmen Tally Three vs. Syracuse
Virginia got three of its 12 goals in the season opener against Syracusefrom freshmen. A.J. Shannon, a highly regarded prospect from Canada, scoredtwice in his debut, while fellow midfielder Chris Rotelli found the back ofthe net once.
That is the best performance by Virginia freshmen in three years. In 1997Jay Jalbert scored four times and Drew McKnight twice in the season opener(also a one-goal loss to Syracuse).
Eleven Cavaliers Earn Preseason Recognition
Virginia’s roster this season features 11 players who have been named tovarious preseason All-America squads.
Defenseman Ryan Curtis, last season’s Schmeisser Cup winner as the nation’stop defenseman, returns to anchor the Cavalier defense. Lacrosse magazinelisted him as its Player of the Year and one of five “Players to Watch”this spring. Curtis has also been named to preseason All-America teams byFace-off, Inside Lacrosse, College Lacrosse USA and the Baltimore Sun.Joining Curtis as a Lacrosse magazine “Player to Watch” is midfield JayJalbert, winner of the 1999 McLaughlin Award as the nation’s outstandingmidfielder. And like Curtis, Jalbert has cited by Face-off, InsideLacrosse, College Lacrosse USA and the Baltimore Sun as a preseasonAll-America.
Two of UVa’s starting attackmen-senior Drew McKnight and sophomore ConorGill-have been selected preseason All-Americans. McKnight, the Cavaliers’leading active scorer (68g, 68a), was also named one of nine”Sharpshooters” by Inside Lacrosse magazine. Gill, the ACC Rookie of theYear and MVP of the NCAA Tournament a year ago, will be looked upon toquarterback the attack again this season.
Junior Hanley Holcomb joins Jalbert in the midfield to give head coach DomStarsia two preseason All-Americans on the first unit. Holcomb, whopossesses one of the hardest shots in the nation, found the back of the net27 times last season.
Long stick middie Peter Ragosa, one of the nation’s most underratedplayers, has been cited by Inside Lacrosse, College Lacrosse USA andFace-off for preseason recognition.
The Virginia face-off duo of Jason Hard and David Jenkins were bothrecognized for their face-off ability by the preseason pickers. Both werealso among 11 of the nation’s top face-off specialists selected by InsideLacrosse.
Defensively, junior John Harvey and sophomore Mark Koontz were named to thepreseason squad presented by Inside Lacrosse. Koontz was also named toFace-off’s preseason squad.
Goalie Derek Kenney, who last year became the first freshman to start ingoal for the Cavaliers in 20 years, has also been named to severalpreseason All-America squads.
Avoiding the “Sophomore Slump”
Attackman Conor Gill came to UVa with the reputation as being a giftedoffensive player and he lived up to his billing as UVa captured lastseason’s national title.
For the season he finished with 22 goals and 30 assists for a total of 52points and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year.Saving his best for the biggest stage in the college game, Gill turned theNCAA Tournament in College Park, Md., into his own personal show. He scoredfive goals in the first quarter to lead the Cavaliers to a 16-11 win overJohns Hopkins in the semifinals. He then scored UVa’s 11th goal andassisted on the 12th in the national championship game vs. Syracuse as UVagained a 12-10 win. For his play he was named the MVP of the title game andto the NCAA All-Tournament squad.
Given all that he did last year, one accomplishment he will certainly lookto keep off his resume is the dreaded “sophomore slump.”
That looks to be a difficult task considering his 30 assists tied Army’sTim Pearson for the national lead among rookies, while he tied for third inpoints (52) by a freshman last season. He also finished fourth among thenation’s rookies in scoring, averaging 3.25 points per game, and eighthwith 22 goals.
Gill registered just one goal against Syracuse in the first game of thisseason, but broke out with a big performance last Saturday againstPrinceton with two goals and four assists. His four assists were just oneoff his career high set last season.
Gill is second on the team this season with seven points (3g, 4a).Shure Returns With Big GameGiven his limited experience, red-shirt sophomore Ian Shure can almost beconsidered a freshman this season. He played sparingly two years ago as atrue freshman, appearing in just six games and scoring two goals. Then hemissed all of last season due to a severe knee injury that requiredsurgery.
But he has worked hard to return to action and his efforts seem to havepaid off.
He worked his way into the starting attack and scored two goals lastweekend vs. Syracuse in what was the most significant playing time of hiscareer so far.
The two goals vs. the Orangemen tied his career that he established vs.Mercyhurst in 1998.
An outstanding offensive player, he will be called on to add punch to aline that features Drew McKnight and Conor Gill.
Five Seniors Named Co-captains
Five members of Virginia’s senior class this season have been namedcaptains for the 2000 season-Ryan Curtis, Jason Hard, Jay Jalbert, DrewMcKnight and Peter Ragosa.
Curtis and Jalbert were recipients of prestigious national awards lastseason for their play as the Cavaliers won the national title. Curtis wonthe Schmeisser Cup as the nation’s top defenseman, while Jalbert wasawarded the McLaughlin Award as the nation’s outstanding midfielder.Hard teams with David Jenkins to give Virginia the top face-off unit in thecountry. Hard finished sixth in the nation in face-off winning percentage.This is the second year in a row McKnight has served as a team captain. Oneof the more overlooked members of the nation’s most potent offense,McKnight is poised to break into the top 10 in career scoring at Virginia.He currently is 12th in school history with 142 points (71g, 71a) and needsjust 18 points to crack the top 10.
Ragosa, considered by many as the nation’s top long stick middie, hashelped spearhead Virginia’s defensive efforts throughout his career. He wastied for 46th in the nation a year ago in ground balls, averaging 4.4 pergame (70 in 16 games).
Jalbert Looks to Overcome Slow Starts
Senior midfielder Jay Jalbert has been UVa’s offensive MVP in each of thelast two years. But a curious thing happened to the way to winning the teamaward. He got off to very slow starts in 1998 and 1999. And after just twogames this season it looks like the trend might continue.
Two years ago, playing on the attack, Jalbert scored 11 goals in theseason’s first six games as the Cavaliers got off to a 3-3 start. He scoreda career-high five goals in a win over North Carolina in the seventh gameto start a stretch in which he scored 23 goals in the season’s final sevengames. Virginia was 6-1 during that span.
Last season he moved back to the midfield and seemed to take some timegetting into the flow of the offense. Through the first seven games of theseason he had just six goals, including none against Princeton, JohnsHopkins and Maryland.
Once again it was North Carolina that got him going. His three goals in atight game against the Tar Heels began a stretch that saw him find the backof the net 25 times in nine games. During the span he tallied four timesagainst Stony Brook, Butler and Delaware in the quarterfinals of the NCAATournament.
So far this season, Jalbert has been more of a playmaker than a scorer. Hehas scored just twice, while assisting on three other scores.After registering two assists against Syracuse in the opener, he notchedtwo goals and one assist vs. Princeton.
To show just how important Jalbert is to the Cavaliers’ success on offense,UVa is 7-6 since 1998 when he scores none or one goal and nine of thosegames have come in the first half of the season.
Hard, Jenkins Form Potent Faceoff Duo
Virginia head coach Dom Starsia unleashed a monster last season as theCavaliers stormed to the national championship-the two-headed beast ofJason Hard and David Jenkins.
Hard, a senior co-captain in 2000, met with varying success as UVa’sprimary faceoff specialist his first two years. Named the ACC Rookie of theYear in 1997 after winning 61.8 percent of his faceoffs, he slumped in ’98and won just 42.4 percent of his faceoffs.
Jenkins was UVa’s second faceoff man during his rookie campaign two yearsago, winning 56.9 percent of his faceoffs to lead the team.Following the experiment of alternating faceoff men, Starsia adopted themethod full-time last season and reaped immediate dividends.Hard returned to form by winning a career-high 62.8 percent of hisattempts, while Jenkins did even better by winning 64.3 percent of hisfaceoffs. Both finished in the top 10 nationally in faceoffs-Jenkins wassecond, Hard finished sixth-as the Cavaliers finished second nationallyamong the team leaders. Virginia’s 62.3 winning percentage was its bestsince the 1988 squad posted a 63.2 winning percentage.
Last season the Cavaliers lost the faceoff battle in the first two games(Syracuse, Princeton) but had the advantage in 13 of the last 14 games ofthe year (all but the ACC Tournament win over Maryland). In the NCAAplayoffs, Virginia captured an amazing 68.3 percent of the faceoffs taken.This season they have won equal percentages of faceoffs taken-63.6 percent.Hard has claimed 21 of 33 attempts this season, while Jenkins has won 14 of22.
They were dominant last Saturday vs. Princeton, winning 18 of 26 faceoffsvs. the Tigers.
Weisleder’s Return Bolsters Defense
Defenseman Court Weisleder graduated last May with a degree in economics onthe same day the Cavaliers defeated Delaware in the quarterfinals of theNCAA Tournament.
Following Virginia’s NCAA championship, Weisleder accepted a job with aNASDAQ trading firm on Wall Street.. He worked there throughout the fall,but longed to use his remaining year of eligibility and return to UVa.Just after Christmas break he contacted head coach Dom Starsia of hisintentions. Without much hesitation Starsia accepted Weisleder back for thespring. Weisleder quit the firm he was working for, enrolled in classes atUVa and will be competing as a graduate student this season.
Cavaliers Find New Jersey to Their Liking Lately
This is the second year in a row the Cavaliers have played in New Jerseyand the fourth time in the last six years.
Last season UVa gained its first win of the season with a 6-4 triumph atPrinceton. The Cavaliers began their march to the national title with a17-10 win over Delaware the the NCAA quarterfinals played at Princeton.In 1997 the Cavaliers dropped a tough 14-13 overtime decision to Princeton,but the Cavaliers handed the Tigers an 11-4 defeat in 1995 on the Tigers’home field.
Curiously, this is only the ninth time Virginia has played in New Jersey (3-5).