Five Cavaliers Named All-ACC
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April 27, 2006
Baltimore, MD – Five University of Virginia players were named to the 11-man All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse squad announced at the league championship banquet in Baltimore, Md. Senior defenseman Michael Culver and senior attackman Matt Ward are holdovers from last year, while senior midfielder Kyle Dixon, sophomore attackman Ben Rubeor and junior midfielder Drew Thompson were honored for the first time.
Attackman Danny Glading was named the league’s Freshman of the Year, while Dom Starsia was named the ACC Coach of the Year.
Ward becomes a three-time selection, only the 13th player in school history so honored. He is the team’s leading scorer for the third year in a row with 42 points (24g, 18) and leads the conference with 18 assists. He has been the team’s leading scorer in four games this season.
Culver is the top defenseman in the conference and earning all-conference honors for the second year in a row. Typically assigned to the opposition’s top attackman, he has held some of the most dangerous scorers in the country in check while anchoring the ACC’s second-ranked defense. His 30 ground balls are third among ACC defensemen this year.
Dixon is having a phenomenal season and is considered by some as the best midfielder in the country. His 15 assists are second on team and lead ACC middies. A rare scorer and set up man, he is one of only three midfielders in Virginia history with at least 40 career goals and at least 40 career assists.
Rubeor is perhaps the most dangerous attackman on the nation’s top-ranked offense. He is second in the ACC in scoring with an average of 3.80 points per game and goals (2.40 gpg). Rubeor is second on the team in goals with 24 despite missing two games due to injury and has been the team’s leading scorer on six occasions.
Thompson is one of the top all-around midfielders in the country–he plays offense, defense and takes faceoffs. He ranks second among ACC midfielders with 26 points and 12 assists. Thompson ranks third in the ACC in faceoff percentage, winning 58 percent of his attempts, and is fourth in ground balls with an average of 3.83 per game.
Glading was considered the top recruit in the nation and he has lived up to his billing in capturing the conference’s top rookie award. He has started all 12 games on attack for the nation’s top-ranked offense and is one of only seven freshmen in the country with at least 10 goals and 10 assists. His 14 assists lead ACC freshmen and he is second among league rookies in total points (32) and goals (18).
Starsia has been named the Coach of the Year a record seventh time after guiding the Cavaliers to the first undefeated regular season (12-0) in school history. He won his 150th game at UVa earlier this season and is tied for second in league history with 153 wins. He is seventh in NCAA Division I history with 254 career wins.
The Cavaliers face the winner of the semifinal contest between Maryland and North Carolina for the league championship. The title game is Sunday (April 30) at 3:30 pm at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The game will be televised regionally by Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports Net South, SunSports and New England Sports Network (NESN).