Men's Lacrosse Hosts Butler in Final Game of Regular Season

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April 29, 2002

Charlottesville, Va. –

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#5 Virginia (9-3) vs. Butler Bulldogs (5-7)

April 30, 2002
3:00 p.m.
Kl?ckner Stadium
Charlottesville, Va.

Ticket information: Tickets for Tuesday’s game are $ 5 for adults and $ 3 for youth 18 & under and senior citizens. Ticket booths open one hour before face-off.

Seniors Make Final UVa Appearance
Tuesday’s game marks the final Kl?ckner Stadium appearance for nine Cavaliers. Those playing in their final home game include captains Conor Gill, Mark Koontz and Eric Leibowitz, as well as George Greczmiel, Jason Leneau, Brenndan Mohler, Ryan Myerberg, Nick Russo and Ian Shure.

This group of players has been instrumental in putting together one of the best four-year runs in school history, including winning the national championship as freshmen in 1999. The 1999 and 2000 squads both won a school-record 13 games.

They have won two ACC titles and have been invited to the NCAA Tournament every year and have been ranked in the top five for 27 weeks, including four at #1. Their overall collegiate record stands at 42-15 (.737).

The Series vs. the Bulldogs
Virginia has won all three meetings vs. the Bulldogs, including an 11-8 win last season in Indianapolis.

This is the fourth year in a row the Cavaliers have closed the regular season against Butler.

The 1999 meeting was Virginia’s first game ever played in Indiana, in what is regarded as the second-longest trip (in terms of miles) in the history of the UVa program. The Cavaliers’ trip to Orlando, Fla., for last season’s ACC Tournament is the longest road trip in school history.Virginia has used scoring runs to put the Bulldogs away in all three games. In 1999 UVa scored five unanswered goals in the third quarter to break open a 10-8 game at the half and build a 15-8 leading going into the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers scored nine straight goals (including eight in the second quarter) to turn a 4-2 lead into an 11-goal bulge early in the second half in the win two years ago in Charlottesville.Conor Gill returned to action after missing one game due to a hand injury to key last season’s win over the Bulldogs. With the game tied at six, he had a hand in UVa’s next five goals in a 5-1 run. He scored twice to start the run and give Virginia an 8-6 lead. He then assisted on two goals by Ian Shure and one by Jamison Mullen as the lead grew to four midway through the final period.

Last season’s win was the 200th win in head coach Dom Starsia’s career. He was presented the game ball by captain David Jenkins following the game.

Duke and Notre Dame are the only common opponents between the two teams this season. The Bulldogs lost to both (Duke 12-4, Notre Dame 12-8), while Virginia beat Notre Dame and split two games with Duke.

Avoiding a Shoot Out
One of the things Virginia will try to avoid against Butler is getting into a shoot out. As shown by the last two games-a 14-13 loss to Duke and a 13-8 defeat to Penn State-the Cavaliers don’t fare well when they give up more than 10 goals. This season Virginia is 3-3 when allowing 10-or-more goals.

Giving up 12-or-more goals seems to be the dividing line for predicting a Virginia win. The Cavaliers are 0-3 when giving up at least 12 goals this season.

The 12-goal ceiling holds for the last five seasons. Since 1998 Virginia is 2-15 when giving up 12 goals or more in a game and has lost the last seven. The last time Virginia allowed more than 12 goals and won occurred in the semifinals of the 2000 ACC Tournament when the Cavaliers downed North Carolina 17-16 in double overtime.