Dom Starsia and Marc Van Arsdale Receive Prestigious Awards at Coaches Convention

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Dec. 11, 2006

Baltimore, Md. – Men’s lacrosse Dom Starsia received the Howdy Myers “Man of the Year” Award, while Marc Van Arsdale was selected the Division I Assistant Coach of the Year at the United States Interollegiate Lacrosse Association/Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Association meetings this past weekend in Baltimore.

Starsia guided the Cavaliers to their third national championship in eight seasons in 2006 with an undefeated 17-0 record. In the process they became the first team in Division I history to complete a season 17-0. They completely dominated all the competition throughout the season, winning by an average of nearly eight goals per game, by far the best mark in the country.

He was also named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year for a record seventh time as the Cavaliers claimed their 16th league title.

Starsia won his 150th game at UVa at when his Cavaliers defeated Johns Hopkins 12-6 before a record Klöckner Stadium crowd of 7440 fans. He is now sixth in college lacrosse history with 259 career wins (including 101 wins at Brown before he came to UVa).

Van Arsdale, who was recently promoted to associate head coach, is involved in all aspects of the Cavalier program and serves as the offensive coordinator. He is in his 12th year as an assistant coach at UVa. He spent five years as the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2001 before rejoining the Cavaliers in 2002. Under his direction, the Virginia offense has led the country in scoring twice (1996 and 2006).

Last season the offense averaged 15.82 goals per game, the highest average by a Division I team since the 1997 Cavalier squad scored an average of 18.21 goals per game. Virginia’s 269 goals last spring are also the most by a D-I team since UVa scored 275 times during the 1996 season.

“It was certainly an honor for Marc and me to be recognized at these recent coaches’ meetings,” said Starsia. “I have been humbled by the events in our sport during this past year. From an unfortunate situation that unfolded in Durham to the exemplary performance of our team, it was a spring that often took your breath away. To consider that my peers may have regarded my contribution as a positive influence is very satisfying. In turn, everyone associated with Virginia lacrosse holds Marc in the very highest regard, for his efforts on and off the field. His selection as coach of the year is the clearest indication of his respected stature in the national coaching community.”