Three Men's Lacrosse Players Earn Academic Recognition

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June 14, 2006

Charlottesville, Va. – Michael Culver, Matt Poskay and Matt Ward of Virginia’s national championship men’s lacrosse team were named United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Scholar All-Americans announced recently at the STX/USILA All-American brunch.

The Cavalier trio were among 19 Division I student-athletes and a total of 48 student-athletes from all NCAA divisions named to the team. UVa led the way with three honorees. At the Division I level, Denver, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame and Penn had two players selected.

All three student-athletes received their degrees last month. Culver graduated with a degree in English, while Poskay and Ward graduated with degrees in commerce.

Culver started at close defense in all 17 games this season on the nation’s 10th-ranked defense this season. A tremendous cover defensemen, he consistently shut down some of the nation’s top attackmen and was named the USILA Defenseman of the Year in recognition of his outstanding play. He was also named first-team All-American and to the NCAA Championships All-Tournament team. The Cavaliers ranked 10th nationally in defense this season, giving up an average of just 7.59 goals per game. His 39 ground balls this year were second among the team’s defensemen. He was picked by the expansion Chicago Machine with the seventh pick in the Major League Lacrosse draft last month.

A proven goal scorer, Poskay set a school record for most goals by a midfielder with 41 this season and was the leading scorer in the nation among middies with 47 points. A second-team All-American, he scored 12 goals in the NCAA Championships, including a career-high five against Massachusetts in the championship game. For his career he scored 88 goals, the second most by a midfielder in Virginia history. He was a second round pick of the Boston Cannons in the MLL draft.

Ward was the leader of the Cavaliers this season, particularly in the postseason. He received the Tewaaraton Trophy as the top player in the nation. He also was named the USILA Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. He scored five goals against Massachusetts in the championship game of the NCAA tournament and was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championships; he set a tourney record with 16 goals. Ward was the leading scorer for Virginia this season for the third year in a row with 42 goals and 67 total points. He was selected fourth overall by the Baltimore Bayhawks in the MLL draft.

This is the second year in a row at least two Cavaliers were named Scholar All-Americans.