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May 31, 2005
Philadelphia, Pa. – Five University of Virginia men’s lacrosse players were named to the STX/USILA All-America team announced during the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament Saturday (May 28).
Junior attackman Matt Ward and junior midfielder Kyle Dixon were named to the second-team, while senior long stick midfielder Rob Bateman and junior defenseman Michael Culver were third-team selections. Junior defenseman Steve Holmes received honorable mention honors.
Ward moved up to the second team this season after being named a third-team All-American last year. He led the team this season in goals with 38, the eighth-most in school history, and total points–a career-high 49. Ward was third in the ACC in goals and sixth in points. He scored five goals on two occasions and had 11 multi-goal games.
Dixon turned in an outstanding year on both ends of the field. He was 11th in the ACC in points per game (2.20), tops among the league’s midfielders. He also led the league’s middies in assists with an average of 1.13/g, sixth overall. He and Duke’s Matt Zash, a first-team All-American, were the only midfielders in the ACC to score at least 15 goals and add 15 assists. Dixon finished with 16 goals and 17 assists, both career-high figures.
Bateman received All-America recognition for the third time in his career. He was an honorable mention selection in 2002 and a second-team choice in 2003 while playing at Penn State. Following his graduation from Penn State last year, he transferred to UVa to use his final year of eligibility. He scooped up 46 ground balls this season, third among ACC long stick men. Bateman is the first UVa long stick midfielder named to the top-three teams since Peter Ragosa was a third-team All-American in 2000.
Culver continues the tradition of outstanding defensemen at UVa, marking the 12th consecutive year a Cavalier defender was named to one of the top-three teams. He spearheaded a defense that ranked seventh in the nation, allowing an average of 7.40 goals per game, Virginia’s lowest since 1986. He held some of the most explosive scorers in the country well below their averages, including Maryland’s Joe Walters, North Carolina’s Jed Prossner and Johns Hopkins’ Peter LeSueur. Culver tied for third among ACC close defensemen in ground balls with an average of 2.67/g.
Like Dixon and Culver, Holmes received All-American recognition for the first time this season. One of the best athletes on the team, he was frequently overshadowed by Culver. However, when the stakes were highest he was at his best. In the NCAA Tournament he held Jon Birsner, Navy’s leading scorer, without a goal or an assist. In the national semifinals, he allowed Johns Hopkins’ dynamic midfielder, Kyle Harrison, to score only one goal. Holmes grabbed 43 ground balls this season and finished second among ACC close defensemen with an average of 2.87/g.
The complete team is listed below.
First team:
Attack: Matt Danowski (Duke), Jed Prossner (North Carolina), John Walker (Army)
Midfield: Graham Gill (Navy), Kyle Harrison (Hopkins), Bill McGlone (Maryland), Matt Zash (Duke)
Defense: Tom Garvey (Hopkins), Mitch Hendler (Navy), Brodie Merrill (Georgetown)
Goal: Aaron Fenton (Duke)
Second team:
Attack: Sean Morris (UMass), Joe Walters (Maryland), Matt Ward (Virginia)
Midfield: Joe Boulukos (Cornell), Kyle Dixon (Virginia), Peter Lamade (Duke), Greg Rommel (Syracuse)
Defense: Tony McDevitt (Duke), Brett Moyer (Hofstra), Jake Reid (UMass)
Goal: Matt Russell (Navy)
Third Team:
Attack: Chris Cara (Bucknell), Brian Crockett (Syracuse), Sean Greenhalgh (Cornell), Zack Greer (Duke)
Midfield: Rob Bateman (Virginia), Billy Looney (Navy), Steve Looney (Navy), Paul Rabil (Hopkins)
Defense: Mike Culver (Virginia), Stepehen McElduff (North Carolina), Steve Panarelli (Syracuse), Steve Whittenberg (Maryland)
Goal: Jay Pfeifer (Syracuse)
Honorable Mention:
Attack: Jon Birsner (Navy), Jake Byrne (Hopkins), Jamie Coffin ((Dartmouth), Luke Daquino (Albany), Mike Levielle (Syracuse), Brendan Mundorf (UMBC), Jim Wagner (Army), Pat Walsh (Notre Dame), Jeff Zywicki (UMass)
Midfield: Brett Bucktooth (Syracuse), Peter Cannon (Georgetown), Casey Cittadino (Towson), Andy Corno (Georgetown), Scott Davidson (Denver), Greg Downing (Fairfield), Chris Doyle (UMass), Ben Grinnell (Dartmouth), Jordan Hall (Delaware), Brendan Healy (Maryland), Will Jones (Penn State), Nick Miaritis (Georgetown), Justin Redd (Cornell), Alex Smith (Delaware), Scott Sowanick (Princeton)
Defense: Oliver Barry (Princeton), Casey Carroll (Duke), Scott Ditzell (Syracuse), Dan Driscoll (Notre Dame), Reyn Garnett (Georgetown), Kyle Georgalas (Cornell), Steve Holmes (Virginia), Pat Keeley (Dartmouth), Greg McCarthy (Hobart), Ray Megill (Maryland), Matt Pinto (Hopkins), Jon Urbana (Villanova), Chris Watson (Hopkins)
Goal: Harry Alford (Maryland), Chris Collins (Delaware), Andrew Goldstein (Dartmouth), Matt McMonagle (Cornell), Reed Sothoron (Towson), Jesse Schwartzman (Hopkins)