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March 14, 2003
Charlottesville, Va. –
Game 5
#1 Virginia vs. #16 Towson
March 16, 2003 * 3:30 pm
Kl?ckner Stadium * Charlottesville, Va.
Game Info
The Records:
Virginia: 4-0 in 2003 (11-4 last year)
Towson: 1-2 in 2003 (7-5 last year)
The Rankings: (USILA/Inside Lacrosse)
Virginia: 1/1
Towson: 16/17
The Series vs. Towson:
Overall: 5-3
Home: 2-1
Current Streak: W2
Biggest UVa Win: 6, 1972 (15-9)
Biggest TU Win: 4, 1974 (18-14)
UVa Goals: 102
TU Goals: 92
Starsia (UVa) vs. TU: 2-0
Last Meeting:
Virginia won 13-8 last year in Towson
The Series vs. the Tigers
Virginia leads the all-time series by a narrow 5-3 margin. The schools met on an annual basis from 1972-77, but then didn’t meet again until the 1991 NCAA Tournament, a game Towson won 14-13 in Charlottesville.
A 10-year gap followed before the series resumed two years ago with a 12-8 Cavalier victory in the season opener. The four-goal margin proved to be the biggest defeat the Tigers suffered during a season in which they advanced to the final four.
Virginia’s 15-9 win in the first meeting in 1972 stands as the largest margin of victory in the series. Overall Virginia’s average victory margin is 4.8 goals. The Cavaliers won last season’s game by five goals. (This does not include the 1975 game which was forfeited to Virginia, nor the 1976 game that was ruled a “no contest.”)
Two of Towson’s three series victories have been by one-goal (1977, `91). The Tigers’ three series wins have been by an average of 2.0 goals.
It’s interesting to note this is the first time the teams have played on a natural grass field in Charlottesville since the first meeting 31 years ago. That game was played at Scott Stadium before the artificial surface was installed several years later.
Cavaliers Off to Best Start Since 1996
Virginia is 4-0 this season, its best start since the 1996 squad opened with six straight wins.
This is just the third time the Cavaliers have won their first four games under head coach Dom Starsia.
This year’s start is Virginia’s best since a 6-0 start in 1996. The previous year the Cavaliers started 5-0 before losing for the first time.
The Cavaliers have frequently been stymied in getting quick starts due to a series of early-season losses to Syracuse. Virginia got over that hurdle, however, with a 16-15 win over the Orangemen two weeks ago.
Cavaliers at Kl?ckner Stadium
The Cavaliers have won six consecutive games at Kl?ckner Stadium dating back to last season’s loss to Syracuse, their longest winning streak there since an 11-game run from 1994-96.
Playing on Kl?ckner’s natural grass surface has been good to the Cavaliers throughout the years. Since becoming their home field in 1993, Virginia is 43-9 (.827) at Kl?ckner.
Virginia has been even better when playing lower-ranked teams at Kl?ckner Stadium posting a 33-6 (.846) record.
The Cavaliers have won their last five games against lower or unranked teams at Kl?ckner since losing to North Carolina two years ago.
Rotelli Named National Player of the Week
Midfielder Chris Rotelli was named Warrior/Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week, as well as Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, for his play in the Cavaliers’ 10-7 win at Princeton last weekend.
The senior from Rumford, R.I, tied his career high with four goals and added an assist to have a hand in half of his team’s goals as the Cavaliers gained their second road win in a row over a top-five team.
Rotelli scored three goals in the second quarter, including two that broke a 3-all tie and enabled the Cavaliers to build a 5-4 halftime lead. His second goal of the game came in a man down situation and helped UVa gain a 4-3 lead.
Following two quick Princeton goals to open the second half that gave the Tigers their only lead at 6-5, Rotelli made his presence felt on the defensive end. He stripped a Princeton player of the ball in front of the Virginia goal, scooped up the loose ball and raced downfield. On the break he found John Christmas alone on the left wing. Christmas took the perfect pass and fired a shot past goalie Julian Gould to knot the score at six.
That play started a run where Virginia scored five of the game’s final six goals, including Rotelli’s fourth of the day, to give the Cavaliers the victory.
Starsia vs. Lower Ranked Opponents
Virginia comes into this game ranked first in this week’s USILA poll, while Towson is ranked 16th.
Since Dom Starsia took over the Virginia program in 1993, the Cavaliers have feasted upon lower or unranked opponents, winning 96 times and losing only 20.
deVilliers Improves at Faceoff X
One of the big questions for the Cavaliers coming into the season centered on the play of faceoff man Jack deVilliers (pronounced duh-vill-yea). He was the team’s primary man at the faceoff X last season, a tough assignment for a rookie.
He won less than 50 percent of his draws for the season (.478) but improved during the latter part of the campaign and won more than half in two of his last three games. In perhaps his best performance of the season he won 13 (career high at the time) of 24 attempts in the national semifinals vs. Syracuse.
The sophomore from Lutherville, Md., worked hard in the offseason and is back bigger and stronger. The offseason work seems to be paying off. He had a fine preseason and has been instrumental in all three wins thus far.
He was fabulous in the win over then #1 Syracuse two weeks ago, winning a career-high 19 of 32 draws (.594), including 11 of 17 in the second half as UVa came from three goals down to win 16-15.
In last week’s win over Princeton, he was just as effective. He won 11 of 18 draws (.611), including seven of nine in the second half as Virginia scored five of the game’s final six goals to win 10-7.
He was stellar in the win over Notre Dame on Tuesday, winning 14 of 23 faceoffs, the third time this season he’s won at least 60 percent.
After just four games, deVilliers has won 62.5 percent of his attempts and is averaging 15.0 wins per game.
Johnson Needs One for Top 10
Junior goalie Tillman Johnson is considered by many to be the top goalie in the nation. He was a preseason first-team All-American and is the only Division I goalie named to the list of candidates for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the top player in the nation.
He has been the starter throughout his career. Last season he was an honorable mention All-American after turning aside 173 shots, the most by a Cavalier netminder since 1996.
The junior from Annapolis, Md., has been steady during the season’s early stages while going up against some of the top teams in the nation early on.
He played spectacularly in last week’s win over Princeton with nine saves and just seven goals allowed. Several of his saves were from in close and clearly gave the Cavalier defense a boost.
Despite being saddled with eight penalties, the Cavaliers only allowed one extra man goal to the Tigers.
The effort vs. Princeton came on the heels of a fine overall game against then #1 Syracuse the week before. He got off to a slow start vs. the Orangemen and allowed goals on three of the first four shots, but settled down in the second half and recorded nine of his 14 saves after halftime to help UVa come from three goals behind to gain a 16-15 win.
Johnson registered eight saves vs. Notre Dame on Tuesday, while allowing eight goals. It must be noted, however, that three goals came in man down situations, a tough assignment for any goalie.
Already 11th on UVa’s all-time saves list, Johnson needs only one save to move into the top 10. A look at UVa’s career saves list is below.
Player, years, saves
1. Rodney Rullman, 1972-75, 553
2. Deeley Nice, 1960-62, 498
3. Bo Moore, 1952-54, 494
4. Chris Sanderson, 1995-98, 493
5. Peter Sheehan, 1984-88, 491
6. Cam MacLachlan, 1975-78, 470
7. James Ireland, 1991-94, 458
8. Tom Groeninger, 1988-91, 455
9. Bob Hoover, 1955, 57-58, 403
10. J.B. Meyer, 1981-84, 364
11. Tillman Johnson, 2001-pres., 363
Rotelli, Shannon Atop ACC Lists
Midfielders Chris Rotelli and A.J. Shannon are two of the leading midfielders in the country this season. Both were named preseason All-Americans-Rotelli to the first team, Shannon to the third team-by Face-Off Yearbook.
Shannon led ACC mids in scoring last spring with a career-high 25 goals, while Rotelli was right behind with 24.
Both are continuing their scoring tears this season.
Rotelli leads the team with 12 goals and 17 points, while Shannon is tied for second with 11 goals and third with 15 points.
The senior duo is among the leading active ACC players in goals and points. Their place on each chart is shown below.
Career Goals
Player, school, pos., goals
1. Chris Rotelli, UVa, M, 71
2. A.J. Shannon, UVa, M, 67
3. Kevin Cassese, Duke, M, 61
4. Mike Mollott, Md., M/A, 58
Career Points
Player, school, pos., points
1. Mike Mollott, Md., M/A,136
2. Kevin Brennan, Duke, A, 99
3. Dan Lamonica, Md., A, 96
4. Kevin Cassese, Duke, M, 95
5. Chris Rotelli, UVa, M, 94
6. A.J. Shannon, UVa, M, 92
Shannon Leads Offense Early On
Senior A.J. Shannon moved from attack to the midfield last year and turned in a big season. He tallied 25 goals and led the team’s middies in goals, assists and points (35), all career-high figures.
So far this season Shannon is on pace to top those numbers. He is tied for second on the team with 11 goals and third with 15 total points.
He scored a career-high five goals and added an assist to propel UVa to a 19-8 win over Drexel in the season opener. The six points is also a career best.
Shannon turned in a second electric performance in the upset of Syracuse in the Carrier Dome recently.
The Whitby, Ontario, native scored four goals and added two assists to lead UVa to the 16-15 victory, its first over SU since the 1999 title game.
He scored two straight goals early in the third period to start the Cavaliers on a five-goal run that turned a 9-6 deficit into an 11-9 lead in just four minutes. From that point on the Cavaliers would never trail.
He has scored just once in each of the last two games, but his mere presence on the field causes concern for the other team.
Shannon and John Christmas are the only players with a goal in every game this season. They have both scored in the last seven games dating back to last season, the longest current streak on the team.
Hughes Shuts Down Syracuse’s Powell
Junior defenseman Brett Hughes has started throughout his career at UVa. His first two years he played in the shadow of 2002 ACC Player of the Year Mark Koontz, who like Hughes hails from Upper Arlington, Ohio.
But with Koontz graduated and off to a career on Wall Street, Hughes has assumed the role of defensive stopper. He got a taste of it late last season following Koontz’ season-ending knee injury, but this season the role is all his.
An outstanding athlete-Hughes was an all-state football player in Ohio-he will draw some of the top offensive players the nation has to offer this season.
His first big test of the season came against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome two weeks ago.
By all accounts Hughes was one of the unsung heroes in UVa’s 16-15 win by holding the explosive Michael Powell to just two assists. The game was only the fourth of Powell’s career in which he failed to score a goal and the third-lowest point total of his career.
Hughes also contributed a big play on offense that proved to be a key in the one-goal win. With six seconds left in the third period he launched a 90-yard clear downfield for Joe Yevoli. Yevoli snared the ball one handed and fired the ball past a stunned Jay Pfeifer for a goal at the buzzer.
Last Saturday against Princeton he held senior Matt Trevenen without a goal or an assist as the Cavaliers allowed just 28 shots and seven goals. The seven goals are tied for the Tigers’ fewest since 2000.
Hughes leads the team’s close defensemen with 14 ground balls this season.
Cavaliers Adapt to Any Style
The season is not even a month old, but the Cavaliers are already making a statement that this could be a remarkable season. In back-to-back games Virginia has faced opponents with opposite styles and have performed flawlessly despite the contrast.
Three games ago Virginia defeated Syracuse 16-15 in an up and down game. Both squads are renowned for their fast-paced style and the fans in attendance at the Carrier Dome weren’t disappointed in that regard.
In that game both teams built three-goal leads only to see the other team charge back and tie the score. In Virginia’s case, the Cavaliers saw their three-goal fourth quarter lead evaporate to a tie at 15 before John Christmas’ game winner with 22 seconds remaining.
Against Princeton last week, the Cavaliers played a team that prefers to slow the pace.
The methodical approach didn’t deter the Cavaliers, who withstood a three-minute non-releasable penalty by matching the Tigers’ one goal during the span.
After the Tigers scored two quick goals to start the second half to take their only lead at 6-5, the Cavaliers clamped down on defense and picked up their play on offense by scoring five of the game’s last six goals to win handily 10-7.
Virginia defeated a Notre Dame team on Tuesday that prefers to go at a slower pace much like Princeton. The opening quarter was a wild one with both teams racing up and down the field. The Cavaliers built a 4-2 lead after 15 minutes, but the pace slowed onsiderably in the second quarter with UVa holding a 5-3 halftime lead.
The Cavaliers blew the game open with a lightning fast four-goal outburst to open the second half, but the Fighting Irish closed the period with a three-goal run of their own. Virginia clinched the win with another four-goal run that opened the final quarter as the teams traded goals the rest of the way.
Virginia Alone Atop USILA Poll
Following their win over Syracuse two weeks ago, the Cavaliers moved into a tie for number one in the USILA coaches poll with Johns Hopkins. Last week’s win over Princeton seemed to be enough for the voters to differentiate between the Cavaliers and Blue Jays, as Virginia moved into the top spot by a slim margin over Johns Hopkins.
This is the third time in the last four years Virginia has been ranked #1 in the country in the coaches poll. Interestingly, the highest the Cavaliers were ranked during their national championship year of 1999 was second.
Last year the Cavaliers went 1-1 when ranked No. 1, but fell out of the top spot following a loss to #12 Duke in the ACC Tournament. That loss is the lowest ranked team Virginia has ever lost to while ranked first.
Under head coach Dom Starsia, Virginia is 13-5 when ranked #1, including 6-1 at home. Virginia’s only loss at home under Starsia-which is also UVa’s only loss as #1 at home since at least 1971-was a 13-12 overtime loss to Syracuse three years ago.