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Jan. 22, 2004
Charlottesville, Va. – The University of Virginia men’s lacrosse team features seven players on the 2004 Face-Off Yearbook preseason All-American squad. Three Cavaliers were named to the first-team-senior defenseman Brett Hughes, senior goalie Tillman Johnson and junior attack John Christmas. Junior faceoff specialist Jack deVilliers, junior attack Joe Yevoli and sophomore midfielder Kyle Dixon were second-team choices, while sophomore attack Matt Ward received honorable mention recognition.
The Cavaliers, ranked No. 1 in Face-Off Yearbook’s preseason coaches poll, share the lead for the most players named with the poll’s No. 2 team, Johns Hopkins. Both schools have seven overall selections, including three on the first-team.
A three-year starter, Hughes is one of the nation’s top defenders, who consistently shuts down the opposition’s top attackman. He was a second-team All-American last season and was named to the NCAA Championships All-Tournament team and the All-ACC Tournament team as UVa captured both championships. His 50 ground balls were second among ACC close defensemen in 2003.
Johnson reserved a place in the history of UVa athletics with his epic performance in last year’s NCAA Tournament, highlighted by dramatic efforts against Maryland and Johns Hopkins in the final four. The reigning USILA Player of the Year and Goalie of the Year, he made 205 saves last season with a .655 save percentage.
A dynamic attackman with tremendous speed and quickness, Christmas led the team with 36 goals last season while being match up against some of the nation’s top defensemen. He was a second-team All-American and an All-ACC pick for the second year in a row.
Named the team’s most improved player, deVilliers was one of the nation’s leading faceoff men last spring. He was ninth nationally with a 58.8 winning percentage and led the country with a school-record 204 wins. He won more than 68 percent of his attempts on five occasions.
The ACC’s Rookie of the Year in 2002 when he led the league with 40 goals, Yevoli saw his role change a bit last season and led the conference with 26 assists. He was named a second-team All-American after sharing the team lead in scoring with 49 points.
Dixon is the only sophomore named to any of the first three teams. A member of the U.S. Under-19 team that captured the world championship last summer, he scored nine goals and added eight assists last season while playing on the first midfield in 2003.
Ward turned in a very productive campaign as one of the nation’s top freshmen. He finished with 46 points (26g, 20a) and was one of only two freshmen in the country to score at least 20 goals and add 20 assists. Twenty-four of his 26 goals came against ranked teams, the highest percentage on the team.
The complete list of preseason the magazine’s Division I All-Americans is below.
First Team:
A-Kyle Barrie, Jr., Johns Hopkins
A-Mike Powell, Sr., Syracuse
A-Ryan Boyle, Sr., Princeton
A-John Christmas, Jr., Virginia
M-Kyle Harrison, Jr., Johns Hopkins
M-Kevin Boland, Sr., Johns Hopkins
M-Sean Lindsay, Sr., Syracuse
M-Walid Hajj, Sr., Georgetown
F/O-Andy Corno, Jr., Georgetown
LSM-Rob Bateman, Sr., Penn State
D-Chris Passavia, Sr., Maryland
D-Brett Hughes, Sr., Virginia
D-Lee Zink, Sr. Maryland
D-Ronnie Staines, Sr., North Carolina
G-Tillman Johnson, Sr., Virginia
Second Team:
A-Joe Vevoli, Jr., Virginia
A-Jeff Zywicki, Sr., UMass
A-Jed Prossner, Jr., North Carolina
A-Sean Greenhalgh, Jr., Cornell
M-Conor Ford, Sr., Johns Hopkins
M-Kyle Dixon, Soph., Virginia
M-Ned Britt, Sr., Yale
M-Ben Grinnell, Jr., Dartmouth
F/O-Jack deVilliers, Jr., Virginia
LSM-Corey Harned, Sr., Johns Hopkins
D-Pat Keeley, Jr., Dartmouth
D-Matt Garcia, Jr., UMass
D-Brian Zuchelli, Sr., Hofstra
D-Greg Bice, Sr., Ohio State
G-Andrew Goldstein, Jr., Dartmouth
Third Team:
A-Matt Rewkowski, Jr., Johns Hopkins
A-Stephen Brundage, Sr., Loyola
A-Jason Donegar, Jr., Princeton
A-Delby Powless, Sr., Rutgers
M-Scott Davidson, Jr., Denver
M-Bryant Will, Jr., North Carolina
M-Tom Daniels, Sr., Dartmouth
M-Steve Vallone, Sr., Syracuse
F/O-Peter Vlahakis, Sr., Fairfield
LSM-Brodie Merrill, Jr., Georgetown
D-Tim DeBlois, Sr., Cornell
D-Ricky Schultz, Sr., Princeton
D-Cory Vann, Sr., Denver
D-Jack Reid, Soph., UMass
G-Greg Havalchak, Soph., Rutgers
Honorable Mention:
Attack: Joe Walters, Soph. Maryland; Pat Walsh, Soph. Notre Dame; John Walker, Soph. Army; Brian Crockett, Soph. Syracuse; Matt Ward, Soph. Virginia; Jamie Coffin, Soph. Dartmouth; Ian Dingman, Soph. Navy; Andy Gallagher, Soph. UMBC; Andrew Collins, Sr., Cornell; Jeff Bryan, Sr., Army; Chris Cara, Jr., Bucknell; Neal Goldman, Sr., Georgetown; Dan Berger, Sr., Notre Dame.
Midfield: Justin Smith, Sr., Maryland; Matt Zash, Soph. Duke; Chris Doyle, Jr., UMass; Justin Redd, Jr., Cornell; Greg Peyser, Soph. Johns Hopkins; Will Jones, Jr., Penn State; Jeff Biggs, Sr., Denver; Ryan Metzbower, Sr., Delaware; Joe Boulukos, Soph. Cornell; John Keysor, Soph. Hofstra; Tom Werney, Jr., Fairfield; Graham Gill, Jr., Navy; Brian Myers, Sr., Towson; F/O Ben DeFelice, Sr., Towson; F/O Matt Lucas, Sr., Villanova; F/O Dan Kallaugher, Soph. Yale; F/O Kevin Frew, Sr., North Carolina.
LSM/Defense: LSM Chris McKay, Sr., Butler; LSM Todd Montgomery, Sr., Yale; LSM Tommy Morris, Sr., Navy; Blaise Fletcher, Sr., Bucknell; Brian O’Rorke, Sr., Providence; Brett Moyer, Soph. Hofstra; Jon Urbana, Jr., Villanova; John Wendling, Sr., Duke; Bernie Cannon, Sr., Loyola; Andy Braziel, Sr., Georgetown; Matt O’Malley, Sr., Penn State.
Goalie: Tony Russo, Sr., Ohio State; Jake McKenna, Sr., Harvard; Reed Sotheron, Jr., Towson; Mike Gabel, Jr., Vermont; Paul Spellman, Jr., North Carolina; Mike Levin, Sr., Brown; Jay Pfeifer, Jr., Syracuse.