Men's Lacrosse Receives Atlantic Coast Conference Accolades

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July 14, 2006

Charlottesville, Va. – The national champion University of Virginia men’s lacrosse program continues to receive accolades for its performance during the 2006 season.

Dom Starsia’s program received the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Sportsmanship Award for lacrosse for the third consecutive season. Teams receiving the award have conducted themselves with a high degree of character and good sportsmanship, as determined by a vote of the league’s players and coaches.

Eight Cavaliers have also been named to the inaugural All-ACC Academic Men’s lacrosse team. Maryland and Duke also had eight players selected, while North Carolina had six.

Headlining the all-academic squad is Tewaaraton Trophy winner and USILA Scholar All-American Matt Ward. Ward led the ACC in goals per game (2.47) and points per game (3.94) and was second in assists per game (1.47) after leading the Cavaliers to their fourth NCAA championship and sixth national title in program history. The Cavaliers became the first team in NCAA history to finish with a 17-0 record and the 12th team in NCAA history to win the national championship with an undefeated record.

Ward, who graduated in May with a degree in commerce, is joined on the academic team by fellow May graduates Michael Culver and Matt Poskay, 2005 graduate Jared Little, who played this season while enrolled in graduate school, juniors Adam Fassnacht and Drew Thompson, sophomore Ben Rubeor and freshman Steve Giannone. Culver and Poskay were also named USILA Scholar All-Americans this season.

To be eligible for consideration to the All-ACC Academic team, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.