Story Links
March 23, 2001
Charlottesville, Va. –
#9 Virginia Cavaliers (2-3) vs. #5 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (2-1)
March 24, 2001
8:00 p.m.
Homewood Field
Baltimore, Md.
Radio: Saturday night’s game can be heard on WJFK-AM 1300 in Baltimore. There will be a 15-minute pregame show and a 15-minute postgame show. Larry Quinn and Mark Dixon will provide all the play-by-play and expert analysis.
Radio Broadcast Available on the Web: The radio broadcast is available on the internet at www.360lacrosse.com.
Television: Saturday night’s game is also being televised on WMAR-TV 2 in Baltimore.
The Series vs. the Blue Jays
Johns Hopkins holds a commanding 51-18-1 record in the all-time series with Virginia. The rivalry between the two schools goes all the way back to two meetings in 1904, well before lacrosse was recognized as a varsity sport at UVa. The next meeting didn’t occur until 1926, the second “official” year of the varsity program. The teams have met at least once every season since 1948, the longest current series of any Virginia opponent.
John Hopkins’ 51 wins over Virginia are by far the most wins by any school over the Cavaliers. Maryland is next with 38 wins over UVa.
Virginia has also played more games against Johns Hopkins than any one else (70). Again, Maryland is second with 66 games vs. the Cavaliers.
Not surprisingly, the Blue Jays have dominated the Cavaliers at Homewood Field, posting a 29-6-1 record on their home field. Virginia’s most recent win at Homewood was a 16-12 win four years ago. Hopkins won the last meeting at Homewood by a 16-15 count in 1999.
This game features some historical patterns that could bode well for the Cavaliers.
Known as a team that likes the up-tempo pace, Virginia would certainly like to see its offense explode vs. the Blue Jays since the Cavaliers are 16-6 all-time against Johns Hopkins when scoring at least 10 goals. In fact, when UVa scores more than 13 goals they have won eight of nine games against Hopkins.
UVa can be successful if it is able to contain the Hopkins offense because it is 11-2-1 when allowing fewer than 10 goals.
The Cavaliers don’t want tonight’s contest to be a tight one since they are 3-8 in games decided by one or two goals.
Rankings Don’t Mean Much in This Game
One of the characteristics of the Virginia vs. Johns Hopkins series since the late 1980s is the inability to use rankings as a predictor of victory.
The higher ranked team has lost nine of the last 14 regular season meetings dating back to 1987. From 1990-1995, the higher ranked squad lost each time.
Things have turned somewhat the last few of years as the higher ranked team has claimed victory in four of the last five regular season contests.
Starsia’s Cavaliers vs. Higher Ranked Opponents
Virginia is ninth in this week’s USILA poll, while Johns Hopkins used last weekend’s win over then top-ranked Syracuse to jump to fifth. This week’s #9 ranking is Virginia’s lowest since Dom Starsia took over the program in 1993.
Since Virginia is typically found at or near the #1 spot in the polls, it not unusual that the Cavaliers are the higher ranked team more often than not. However, on the rare occasions when the Cavaliers are the lower ranked squad they have had pretty good success springing an upset. as shown by their 13-16 record when being the lower-ranked team.
Being the underdog hasn’t been so good for UVa this season, though, as the Cavaliers lost consecutive games to #1 Syracuse (13-7), #2 Princeton (8-4) and #6 Notre Dame (11-8) (rankings listed were as of game time).
When the Cavaliers are playing on the road they are 3-8 as the lower ranked squad under Starsia.
Cavaliers End Three-game Losing Streak with 15-5 win over Denver
Five different players scored in a five-goal second quarter to break open a tight contest and lift Virginia to a 15-5 win over Denver last Sunday at Kl?ckner Stadium.
The Cavaliers opened the scoring as Conor Gill fed A.J. Shannon for a goal with 4:37 to play in the first quarter. The visiting Pioneers evened the score 41 seconds later as Mike Law scored the first of his three goals in the game. Attackman Mike Kenlay put the Pioneers ahead 2-1 as he beat goalie Tillman Johnson with 2:15 remaining in the quarter.
Denver’s lead was short-lived, however, as freshman Justin Mullen knotted the game at 2-all by sneaking a shot past goalie Brian Berger with 1:28 left in the opening period.
Mullen’s goal started a run of nine unanswered goals for Virginia in the next two quarters. Freshman Jon Focht beat Berger from 15 yards out less than five minutes into the second quarter to put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 3-2. Chris Rotelli, Billy Glading, Gill and Hanley Holcomb scored in succession in the second quarter to put Virginia firmly in command with a 7-2 halftime lead.
Glading, Focht and Holcomb pushed UVa’s lead to 10-2 with third period goals. Law ended Denver’s scoring drought at 32 minutes with a goal off the fourth quarter face-off. He scored his third goal of the afternoon just over a minute later to cut the score to 10-4, but UVa answered with goals of its own as Denver never got closer than six goals in the fourth quarter.
Holcomb led the Cavaliers with a career-high-tying four goals, while Gill tied his career high with five assists. Ian Shure added two goals and three assists.
Johnson went the whole way in goal for Virginia and tied his career high with 12 saves.
Shure Turns in Big Game in Win
Junior attackman Ian Shure missed all of the fall practice period due to offseason surgery. His recuperation also slowed him early in the preseason as he saw limited action in the scrimmages and the first few games of the season.
His saw extended action for the first time this season against Princeton two weeks ago with a two-assist, one-goal performance.
Shure returned to the starting line-up in the loss to Notre Dame and scored a goal and added an assist.
He was instrumental in the 15-5 win over Denver last Sunday with two goals and three assists. The three assists and five total points tie his career high.
Shure is second on the team with six assists and third with 11 points (5g, 6a).
Holcomb Scores in Bunches
Senior middie Hanley Holcomb scored 27 goals two years ago and was one of the unsung Cavaliers during their championship season. But last season was a trying one for the lefty from Ridgewood, N.J. Hampered for much of the season with a nagging hamstring injury, his goal output dropped to 10 as he pressed to regain his scoring touch. He scored just once in the first six games (missed two due to injury) and he failed to score more than two goals in any game.
Owner of one of the hardest shots in the game today, Holcomb has worked hard on both ends of the field during the preseason to become a more complete player and put last season behind him. An outstanding fall caught the notice of some of the preseason All-American pickers who named him to their preseason squads.
He is second on the team with seven goals this spring, but it is interesting to note they have come in bunches.
Holcomb started the season with a three-goal effort in the 12-8 win over Towson in the season opener, but was quiet until last Sunday’s game against Denver. Against the Pioneers he exploded for four goals to lead the Cavaliers to a 15-5 win. His four goals tied his career high he established as a sophomore against Massachusetts.
The Cavaliers have been almost invincible when Holcomb turns in a multi-goal game. They are 15-1 when he scores at least twice.
Notre Dame Hands Cavaliers Third Consecutive Loss
John Flandina scored four goals, including two in the decisive third quarter, to lead Notre Dame to an 11-8 win over the Cavaliers 10 days ago.
Flandina, who came into the game with one goal on the season, scored four of Notre Dame’s first six goals, including the goal that proved to be the game winner.
The Fighting Irish jumped to a 2-0 lead late in the first quarter, but the homestanding Wahoos got late goals from Chris Rotelli and Ian Shure in the final minutes of the second period to take a 4-3 lead at halftime. Shure’s goal, with 50 seconds remaining in the half, gave Virginia its only lead of the game.
Flandina tied the score at 4-all early in the third quarter with a shot just over goalie Tillman Johnson’s shoulder. Midfielder Chris Young managed to trickle a shot just past Johnson as the Irish regained the lead at 5-4. Rotelli tallied his second goal of the day 40 seconds later with an extra-man goal to tie the score at five with 10:22 to play in the third.
Rotelli’s goal forced the fourth tie of the game, but from then on it was all Notre Dame. Flandina’s final goal, a backhanded shovel of a loose ball in front of the cage with 8:45 left in the period, started a three-goal run that saw the visitors push their lead to 8-5. David Ulrich scored 16 seconds later on a behind-the-back shot following an Irish win on the ensuing faceoff and Steve Bishko ended the run with his second goal of the game with 7:36 remaining.Shannon’s second extra-man goal of the game at the 6:47 mark of the third quarter cut the Notre Dame lead to 8-6, but the Cavaliers were never able to get any closer.
Irish goalie Kirk Howell stopped 14 shots, including seven in the second quarter, while Johnson recorded eight saves for Virginia.
Tom Glatzel scored two goals for Notre Dame and assisted on another to join Flandina in leading the Irish offense. Virginia was led in scoring by Rotelli and Shannon with three goals apiece.
Power Shortage Reaches Charlottesville
Perhaps one of the oddities of the season so far has been Virginia’s inability to score. Normally one of the most high-powered squads around, the Cavalier offense has experienced a power shortage similar to that faced in California earlier this year (well, maybe not exactly, but close). So far this season the Cavaliers are averaging just 9.00 goals per game, reaching double digits twice. Their 15 goals the last time out vs. Denver represents a season high.
One of the Cavaliers’ problems during their recent three-game losing streak was their inability to put the ball in the back of the net. The losing streak, the program’s longest since 1989, also marked the first time since `89 that Virginia failed to score at least 10 goals in as many as three consecutive games.
The seven goals against Syracuse on March 3 ended a streak of 21 consecutive games dating back to the middle of the 1999 season where the Cavaliers reached double figures. That streak is the second-longest streak in school history. The school record is 44 consecutive games with 10+ goals from 1995-97. During the three-game losing streak, Virginia recorded three of the 12-lowest scoring games under Dom Starsia. The four goals vs. Princeton is UVa’s lowest output since scoring three vs. Johns Hopkins in 1989.
Versatile Rotelli Leads UVa in Goals
Chris Rotelli has seen action at attack and in the midfield this season in order to give Virginia some scoring punch. The sophomore from Rumford, R.I., has been the lone Cavalier who has not had trouble finding the back of the net so far this season.
He leads the team with nine goals, already two more than he scored all of last season, and is the only player to score at least one goal in every game. Rotelli is also third on the team with five assists. He has accounted for 14 points (9g, 5a) and trails Conor Gill by just three points for the team lead.
Moved to the attack for the first time for the Syracuse game, Rotelli responded with a career-high three goals to lead the Cavalier attack. He turned in his second hat trick vs. Notre Dame last week sharing the scoring honors with A.J. Shannon.
Rotelli scored just once in Sunday’s win over Denver, but he assisted on three other goals to help spread the wealth. Hanley Holcomb tied his career-high with four goals to take on the scoring load for the game.
Fast Starts, Slow Finishes Characterize Cavaliers’ Campaign So Far
One of the characteristics of Virginia’s play this season has been an ability to get off to good starts. The Cavaliers have scored 12 goals in the first quarter and 13 in the second (54.3 percent of the goals have come in the first half).
In fact Virginia has either led or been tied at halftime in four of five games. But after halftime, the Cavaliers have had trouble generating much offense. And except for last weekend’s Denver game, the Cavaliers have had trouble generating much offense after the first quarter.Virginia has been outscored 12-11 in the third quarter and by a 15-10 margin in the fourth.Against Syracuse, the Cavaliers led 2-1 after 15 minutes, but fell behind quickly after being outscored 5-1 in the second quarter en route to a 13-7 loss.
The next week Virginia and Princeton played a tight game for three quarters, but the Tigers scored three unanswered goals in the final quarter to gain an 8-4 win.
Virginia’s loss to Notre Dame is the only game in which it didn’t lead after the first quarter. But UVa used a strong second quarter to take a 4-3 halftime lead. Nonetheless Virginia’s momentum was short lived as the Fighting Irish scored six goals in the third quarter to take control of the game and post the 11-8 win.
Against Denver, the Cavaliers used a five-goal second quarter to break a 2-2 tie and take command of the game. UVa tied the score late in the first quarter on a Justin Mullen goal that started a nine-goal run that lasted until early in the fourth.
Shannon Scores Five in Last Two, Helps Get Offense Going
Attackman A.J. Shannon was having some trouble getting his shot off early in the season, but if his play the last two games is any indication, his woes are over.
An explosive scorer with an ability to get a shot off in tight spaces due to his Canadian background, he scored one goal and assisted on two others in the opener vs. Towson last month.But in the next two games (Syracuse, Princeton) he managed to take just one shot in each game and failed to score as Virginia combined for just 11 goals in the two losses.
He joined Chris Rotelli as the team’s lone bright spots on offense in the loss to Notre Dame by scoring a career-high three goals. Two of his goals came in extra-man situations.
Shannon’s scoring parade continued last Sunday against Denver as he found the back of the net twice to help key an offensive resurgence. He also was active when not scoring as he scooped up seven ground balls, by far a career best.
In the last two games the sophomore from Whitby, Ontario, has scored five goals (on just 15 shots) for the best two-game stretch of his young career. If he scores at least two goals against Johns Hopkins it will mark just the second time in his career he has scored at least two goals in as many as three straight games.
Jenkins Assumes Primary Face-off Duty
For the last three years David Jenkins and Jason Hard shared UVa’s face-offs responsibilities and gave Dom Starsia the luxury of having two outstanding face-off specialists. In fact, both were ranked in the top 10 in the nation the last two seasons. But with Hard’s graduation, Jenkins will be taking most of the team’s draws this season.
So far this season Jenkins is winning 57.8 percent of his draws (48 of 83).
He had his best game of the season against #2 Princeton, winning 12 of 16 faceoffs.
Jenkins has won 61.5 percent of his career face-offs, the second-highest total in school history. Steve Kraus holds the school record with a 68.0 winning percentage.
With 320 career faceoff wins, Jenkins is fifth in school history. He needs six wins to pass Kraus for fourth place all time.The winningest face-off men in school history are listed below.
name, years taken W L Pct. 1. Jason Hard, 1997-00 949 539 410 .568 2. Brad Wood, 1984-87 707 423 284 .598 3. Tony Nugent, 1992-95 668 362 306 .542 4. Steve Kraus, 1978-81 478 325 153 .680 5. David Jenkins, 1998-01 520 320 200 .615
Kenney Makes Switch to Midfield
Goalie turned midfielder Derek Kenney saw his first action of the season against Princeton two weeks ago. Sidelined since early in the preseason due to a hamstring injury, Kenney was cleared to begin practicing the week of the Princeton game.
He entered the contest for the first time late in the third quarter and quickly made his presence felt. With Princeton leading 5-3 late in the third quarter, Kenney took a fine pass from Ian Shure on the left side of the cage and calmly bounced a shot past goalie Trevor Tierney on the first shot of his career.
An outstanding athlete, Kenney was in on 11 faceoffs (winning three) against Denver last Sunday as his role slowly expands throughout the season.
Freshman Takes Over Between the Pipes
Tillman Johnson, one of the top goalies in the country in last year’s recruiting class, has started both games this season. His start marks the second time in the last three seasons that Dom Starsia has started a rookie in goal. Derek Kenney, the starter the last two seasons, became the first freshman to start in the cage for Virginia since 1979. Kenney has moved to the midfield this season.
Johnson got off to a shaky start in the opener vs. Towson last month–a 12-8 win. The rookie from Annapolis, Md., failed to make a save in the first quarter, but once settled in he finished with 12 saves. His play in man down situations was stellar as Towson failed to score in six extra-man opportunities.
He had a series of rough games during UVa’s recent three-game losing streak. But perhaps that’s not surprising since the losses all came to three of the top teams in the nation.
Johnson allowed 13 goals, while making just six saves against then #1 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome earlier this month. Starsia admitted after the game that Johnson’s play wasn’t typical of how he had been playing in practice up to that point.
The rookie put the Cavaliers in position to win against Princeton two weeks ago. He allowed just five goals through three quarters, but with the Cavaliers unable to sustain any offensive momentum, he wore down and allowed three goals in the final quarter of the 8-4 loss.
Following an off game against Notre Dame when he gave up 11 goals and made just eight saves, Johnson regrouped to tie his career high with 12 saves in the win over Denver. He stopped several point blank shots and gave the team a lift with his inspired play.
So far this season Johnson is allowing an average of 9.06 goals per game, while recording a 51.6 save percentage.