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May 12, 2007
Charlottesville, Va. –
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NCAA Championships–First Round
Game 16
No. 3 Virginia (12-3) vs. No. 15 Delaware (11-5)
May 13, 2007 5 pm
Klöckner Stadium Charlottesville, Va.
Game Overview
The Cavaliers open their journey towards a national championship Sunday afternoon against Delaware at Klöckner Stadium. Faceoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Virginia is the tournament’s second seed for the second time in the last five seasons and the sixth time overall. The second seed has been good to the Cavaliers; they won national titles as the second seed in 1972 and 2003.
Virginia has won four NCAA Championships (1972, 1999, 2003, 2006) and was the USILA national champions in 1952 and 1970 (pre-NCAA Championships).
The Blue Hens are one of the hottest teams in the nation coming into the tournament. They won the CAA championship and have an 11-5 overall record. They are making their first playoff appearance in two years.
Broadcast Information:
Television: This game is being televised by ESPNU. Dave Cohen calls the play-by-play, while Mark Dixon provides the color commentary.
Radio: WINA AM 1070 in Charlottesville is providing live play-by-play coverage of this game. Mac McDonald calls all the action. He is joined by Doug Tarring, a member of UVa’s 1972 national championship team.
The Series vs. the Blue Hens
Virginia holds an 8-1 lead in the all-time series against Delaware. The series has been played basically in two parts. The teams first met annually from 1948-51 in the early years of the UVa program following World War II.Following a several decade hiatus the teams renewed the series with four games from 1987-90. The teams have not played since meeting in the quarterfinals of the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers have won the last four meetings, including a 17-10 win in the 1999 NCAA Tourney. Seven of their eight wins have been by at least six goals and the average margin of victory is 9.0 goals.
Delaware’s lone victory was a 14-12 decision in 1987. That is one of only two games decided by fewer than six goals; Virginia won 7-6 in overtime in 1989.
Virginia has won all five games played in Charlottesville.
Virginia in the NCAAs
This is Virginia’s 30th NCAA Championships appearance. Only Johns Hopkins has been to the tournament (36 times) more than the Cavaliers. (Maryland has also made 30 appearances.)
Virginia has a 37-25 all-time playoff record and is fourth in tournament wins behind Johns Hopkins (57), Syracuse (50) and Maryland (39).
Delaware is making its first tourney appearance since 2005 and fourth overall.
Cavaliers vs. the Tournament Field
Virginia is 6-2 against teams in the NCAA Championships, with wins over Princeton (7-6), Towson (13-9), Johns Hopkins (7-5) and North Carolina (10-9 in overtime).
The Cavaliers also have two wins over Maryland–12-8 during the regular season and 11-10 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. They have lost both games to Duke–7-6 in overtime during the regular season and 12-9 in the conference tournament championship game.
Delaware is 1-4 vs. the tourney field.
Virginia as the Tourney’s Second Seed
Virginia is the second seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last five seasons and the sixth time overall (1972-95-97-2000-03-07).
The Cavaliers have had tremendous success throughout the years playing as the second seed, winning two of the program’s four NCAA championships. Virginia won the national title in 1972 and 2003 as the second seed. The Wahoos have also advanced to the final four two other times (1995, 2000).
Virginia also looks to extend a recent run of success by the No. 2 seed in the NCAAs. Since 1998 the second seed has won the national championship four times, lost in the title game twice and in the semis three other times.
Overall the No. 2 seed has made it to the final four in 30 of 36 tournaments. Its 11 national championships are second most, trailing only the top seed (16 titles).
Virginia Offense Fourth in Nation
The Cavaliers led the nation last season in scoring with an average of 15.8 goals per game. It marked the fourth time since 1996 they had the nation’s leading offense (also led in 1996-97-99).
Despite the loss of three of the top-six scorers from a year ago, the offense has remained productive throughout most of this spring. Virginia is currently sixth in the nation in scoring with an average of 11.6 goals per game.
There have been 10 games nationwide this year when a team has scored at least 20 goals and both Virginia and Delaware have done it twice to lead the way.
Defense Among Nation’s Best
The Virginia offense has been very productive so far this season and ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 11.6 goals per game.
The defense is determined not to be outdone and has been particularly stingy this spring. The Cavalier defenders–led by close d-men Ricky Smith, Matt Kelly and Ken Clausen, and LSMs Mike Timms and Tim Shaw, as well as stopper Kip Turner-spearhead the nation’s 10th-leading defense. The Cavaliers relinquish an average of 7.6 goals per game. Only Drexel (11) and Duke (12) have scored more than nine goals vs. Virginia this season.
Something is going to have to give way because Delaware features the nation’s No. 4 offense, averaging 12.0 goals per game.
Good Shooting Leads to Wins
One of the key factors to Virginia’s run to perfection and the national title last season was its outstanding shooting. The Cavaliers ranked second in the country at 32.7 percent.
This season’s shooting isn’t nearly as torrid (28.0), but for a team that has taken some time to find its scorers, good shooting remains a hallmark to victory.
The Wahoos got their first win of the season against Stony Brook by shooting 35.7 percent (15×42). Midfielder Jack Riley led the way by scoring on four of his five shots, while Danny Glading connected on four of 10.
That was the first of three games in a row of 35 percent or better. Overall this season Virginia has topped the 30-percent mark five times (and been at 29 percent one other time).
The shooting has fallen off a bit recently as the Cavaliers have not shot 30+ percent facing Maryland seven games ago. In that span they are shooting 24.4 percent (56 of 230).
When the Cavaliers shoot at least 30 percent they have had remarkable success recently. Since 1998 Virginia is 69-5 (.932) when shooting 30+ percent.
Since 2001 Virginia has shot better than 30 percent in three of four first round playoff games (curiously failing to do so last season).
Rubeor Among National Leaders in Goals, Points
Junior attackman Ben Rubeor has been one of the nation’s top players this season and is one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best player.
His first two years in the program he was able to “hide” somewhat behind Matt Ward, Matt Poskay and Kyle Dixon, but this season has proven to be his breakout season.
He is currently ranked fourth in the country with 68 points and fifth with 46 goals, all career-high figures. He is also tied for 19th nationally with 22 assists.
He has scored at least one goal in every game this season, to run his streak to 18 games in a row with at least one dating back to late last year. In addition, he has tallied three goals on nine occasions, including a career-high seven against Towson, the third-highest total in school history.
Not only has he been scoring goals at a high rate, he has helped his teammates score at a nearly similar pace. He has had an assist in 12 games so far this spring with a high of four vs. Drexel.
Rubeor has been named the ACC Player of the Week twice this season, most recently after leading the Cavaliers to a 12-8 win over Maryland in late March. He scored a game-high five goals–including the game-winner– and had one assist.
His 46 goals are fourth most in a season in school history, while his 68 points are ninth.
Among active players, Rubeor stands eighth in total points and assists, and ninth in goals.
Turner Earns First-Team All-ACC Honors for First Time
All-ACC goalie and his defensive mates have turned in tremendous defensive efforts this season to help offset the offensive losses from last year as the Cavaliers have built a 12-3 record.
Not surprisingly, Turner has been exceptional throughout the season and earned All-ACC honors for the first time in his career. He is the first UVa netminder to earn All-ACC accolades since Tillman Johnson did it from 2002-04.
Turner recorded 13 saves to lead the Cavaliers to a victory over Syracuse in the inaugural Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. After allowing the Orange to score on six of its first 11 shots, Turner shut the door, holding them to only two goals in the final 45 minutes of play.
Like Syracuse, Princeton scored on four of its first six shot before Turner got hot with 10 saves while holding the Tigers scoreless for more than 32 minutes as UVa gained a narrow 7-6 win.
Turner made 11 saves as Virginia opened its ACC schedule with a 12-8 win over Maryland. He followed that with a tremendous effort in the 10-9 overtime win over North Carolina to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. Against the Tar Heels he made 14 saves and consistently turned aside excellent scoring opportunities in a game that featured seven ties and five lead changes.
Even though the Cavaliers lost to Duke 7-6 in overtime a month ago, it was Turner’s play that kept the game close. He made a career-high 20 saves, while holding the Blue Devils more than five goals under their season average. Duke also shot a season-low 18.4 percent. His 71.4 save percentage is the best for a full game in his career. On the offensive end, he even aided his own cause with an assist on Ben Rubeor’s goal in the fourth quarter.
Turner is ninth in the country in goals against average at 7.47 goals per game and has a .567 save percentage that ranks 20th nationally. He has had a save percentage of at least 61 percent in eight games this season.
He has recorded 135 saves this season, two away from his career high of 137 set two years ago. He is currently tied with Brian Hoover for 10th in school history with 403 career saves.
During the team’s 10-game winning streak earlier in the season, Turner had a save percentage of 59.9 percent and a very low 6.47 goals allowed average. In addition, the opponents shot just 22.0 percent.
Rubeor Eyes Century Goal Club
Junior attackman Ben Rubeor has been on a scoring rampage this season, scoring 46 goals in just 15 games. His total is a career high, 12 more than he tallied last year in 15 games. It is also the fourth-highest total in school history. He is bidding to have only the third 50-goal season in program history. Doug Knight owns the two-highest seasons–56 goals in 1996 and 52 in 1995.
Not only is Rubeor two goals away from the magical 50 mark for a season, he also needs two goals to reach 100 for a career and become only the 10th Cavalier to reach the “Century Club.”
Earlier this season (the first game in fact) he passed the 100-point barrier and now stands 14th in school history with 160 career points (98g, 62a). He reached the 100-point plateau in 31 games, one faster than Matt Ward and the quickest to 100 by a Cavalier since Conor Gill did it in 28 games in 1999-2000.
Rubeor’s place on UVa’s all-time goals list is shown below.
Player, years goals games to 100
1. Doug Knight, 1994-97 165 39
2. Michael Watson, 1994-97 142 46
3. Matt Ward, 2003-06 139 47
4. Kevin Pehlke, 1990-93 138 40
5. Chase Monroe, 1985-88 116 47
6. Jay Jalbert, 1997-00 112 51
7. Tom Duquette, 1970-73 107 47
8. Tucker Radebaugh, 1996-99 106 56
9. Jeff Nicklas, 1982-86 104 50
11. Ben Rubeor, 2005-pres. 98 TBD
Glading Quiet Recently
For most of the season Danny Glading has been overshadowed by Ben Rubeor, who has been on a roll all spring and is among the national leaders in goals and points.
Glading, on the other hand, has been remarkably consistent as the team’s second-leading attackman. He trails Rubeor in goals with 27, one more than his career-high from last season, and points with 43.
The sophomore from Bethesda, Md., has been relatively quiet recently, scoring just one goal in the two ACC Tournament games and three in the last four games entering the playoffs.
Nonetheless, his ability to find the back of the net is unquestioned. He has been the team’s leading goal scorer on four occasions, the most by a Cavalier not named Rubeor, and has nine multi-goal games this spring.
He shared team scoring honors with Jack Riley with four goals in an early season win over Stony Brook. The win was important on several levels, particularly as it followed the season opening loss to Drexel and was on the road.
Glading wrestled the team scoring lead away from Rubeor with three goals in the 10-7 win over Binghamton to become the first player other than Rubeor to lead in eight games.
He scored twice (both in the first quarter) against North Carolina to share team honors with Garrett Billings. It was his fourth multi-goal game in a row.
Glading saw his 22-game streak with at least one point end in the overtime loss to Duke a month ago, but he got back on track on Senior Day against Dartmouth when he notched two goals and two assists. His biggest goal was the last when he scored a man-down goal with 1:28 to play to lift UVa to a 10-9 win.
Billings First-Time Starter on Attack
Sophomore Garrett Billings came to UVa last season with impressive credentials playing the indoor game in Western Canada. He had a tremendous rookie season with 30 goals, third among freshmen nationally, and 43 points, fourth among freshmen.
In his first season as a starter this year, he continues to score with regularity just like he did last year as the fourth attackman. He has scored 21 goals, third on the club, and shares the team lead with 22 assists.
He is one of 22 players in the country with at least 20 goals and 20 assists.
He has had a goal or an assist in every game this season to run his streak to 19 consecutive games with a point, the 18th-longest active streak in the country.
Billings was named to the All-ACC Tournament team recently after having two excellent performances in games against Maryland and Duke.
In the 11-10 win over Maryland in the semis he scored once and assisted on two others. He followed that with three goals (tying his season high) and an assist in the finals against Duke to share the goal lead with Ben Rubeor.
Overall he has led the team in assists eight times and been the high goal scorer on four.
An accurate shooter, Billings puts 73 percent of his shots on goal, the best on the team.
Clausen Vacuums Ground Balls
First-year defenseman Ken Clausen came to Virginia as the No. 1 defenseman in the country coming out of high school. A smart, athletic player, he had a very productive fall and worked his way into the starting line-up when preseason practice started in January.
Like many on the defense, he had a disappointing performance in the opener against Drexel as the Cavaliers gave up two goals in the final 10 seconds to lose.
Against Stony Brook in the second game, Clausen made a big step forward according to the coaching staff, and he continues to get better. He, along with Ricky Smith and Matt Kelly, held an attack that featured a senior and two juniors in check. The attack scored four goals but wasn’t really a factor due to the defensive excellence of Clausen and his mates. Owner of an active stick, Clausen also scooped up a team-leading five ground balls in the game.
In the win over Syracuse, he held first-team All-America Mike Leveille without a goal for only the third time in his career. He also shared the team lead with six ground balls.
He was very active in the standout defensive effort against Princeton that resulted in a 7-6 win for the Cavaliers. He shared the team lead in ground balls with faceoff man Adam Fassnacht with five.
In the win over Johns Hopkins, Clausen turned attackman Kevin Huntley into a spectator, shutting him out and allowing him to take just one shot (which missed).
He had a terrific game against North Carolina and led the team with a career-high seven ground balls. Perhaps his biggest was the one he scooped at the defensive restraining line on a dead run. He carried the ball into the box and unable to find an open teammate, took a shot and scored his first goal to give UVa a 5-4 lead. The Cavaliers went on to win 10-9 in overtime.Clausen has had at least three ground balls in every game but two this season and has led the team’s close defensemen nine times.
He is fifth in the ACC with 63 ground balls, second among close defensemen and also leads ACC rookies. He is also second among all freshmen in the country in ground balls and is tops among non-faceoff men. (Canisius faceoff specialist Tim Rowley leads rookies with 82.)
Clausen has also tied the school record for most grounders by a freshman defenseman. Mike Schattner also scooped 63 in 1988.
Timms is Disruptive Force
Sophomore longstick midfielder Mike Timms is a quiet, reserved player who doesn’t say much off the field. It’s much the same once he gets on the field. He doesn’t say much, but his play this season has spoken loudly.
At 6-5 with a long frame, he uses his size and athleticism to almost ridiculous effect in neutralizing his man.
He could very easily have been named the player of the game in the win over Princeton (the honor instead went to Ben Rubeor who scored the game winning goal). Typically matched up against Mark Kovler, he held him scoreless and caused him to miss all eight shots. Overall the Virginia defense was outstanding, but Timms was a standout with his ability to contain the Princeton scorers. He caused two turnovers and snagged two ground balls and was effective in starting several transition opportunities. Head coach Dom Starsia called his effort “monstrous” and the best of Timms’ career.
The lanky redhead was a force in the win over Johns Hopkins, holding Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Paul Rabil at bay. Rabil scored twice, but one goal came in the fourth quarter with the game basically decided. Rabil took eight shots, but only three were on goal. Timms also snagged four ground balls and caused four turnovers, while leading several Cavalier fast breaks.
In the 12-8 win over Maryland, Timms fielded a career-high nine ground balls, while also causing three turnovers. He followed that three days later with seven grounders and caused a pair of turnovers against Binghamton in another outstanding game. His biggest play occurred early in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers had just tied the score at six. The Bearcats gained possession on the ensuing faceoff, but Timms knocked the ball free near the midline. Steve Giannone scooped up the loose ball, passed to Danny Glading at the restraining line. Glading found Ben Rubeor all alone in front for what proved to be the go-ahead goal as the Cavaliers went on to win 10-7.
He has been steady throughout the spring and is third on the team with 52 ground balls (fifth in country by an LSM). He has caused 27 turnovers, the most in the nation by an LSM.
Riley Picks up Scoring in the Midfield
Junior Jack Riley is one of several Cavaliers who the coaching staff has placed greater expectations on in the search of punch from the midfield. He had a very good fall while being moved around in various roles, including defensive midfield. Called on to be more aggressive on offense, Riley has responded to the call.
Riley played a big role in the win over Stony Brook. Coming off a tough loss to Drexel to open the season, the Cavaliers found themselves facing a feisty Seawolves team. Riley scored four goals (on just six shots) to equal his season total for each of his first two seasons. He scored twice in the first quarter, including what proved to be the game winner, as UVa opened a 5-2 lead. He scored twice more in the fourth quarter to extend the lead.He notched another very important goal against Princeton at the 9:27 mark of the third quarter to give UVa a 6-5 lead.
With Steve Giannone struggling a bit offensively, Riley moved to the first midfield against Johns Hopkins but did not score. However, he scored and had an assist against Maryland and Binghamton in each of the next two games and has continued to be productive.
In the overtime win over North Carolina he did not score, but found Garrett Billings all alone on the left side in overtime to set Billings up for the game-winning goal. Last week against Dartmouth he tied the score with 4:26 remaining with a remarkable catch-and-shoot while falling down; the Cavaliers won three minutes later.
Riley has scored in six of the last seven games and leads UVa’s midfielders with a career-high 14 goals. He ranks fifth among ACC middies in goals.
Thompson Three Goals Shy of Rare 40-40 Club
Senior Drew Thompson is perhaps the nation’s leading all-around midfielder; he does it all like very few players–offense, defense and facing off. He is in his fourth year as a starter in the midfield and has pretty much seen it all in his career. His freshman season was 2004, the year following a national championship. The Cavaliers suffered through the only losing season under Dom Starsia. Compounding matters, Thompson injured his knee late in the season and had to undergo surgery.
The Cavaliers returned to the final four during his sophomore season as Thompson made a big step forward. He tallied 11 goals, including the game-winner against Navy in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Last season he earned second-team All-America honors after scoring 17 goals and leading all midfielders in the country with 23 assists.
He has seen his role change this season as the draws the pole for the first time (Kyle Dixon had the honor the previous three years). He scored four goals in the first four games, but then scored just twice (both against Mount St. Mary’s) in the next six games, including being held without a point in three straight.
Recently, however, Thompson has stepped up his production beginning with the win over North Carolina. He sent that game into overtime with his first goal in five games with 2:06 left to play.
The next week against Duke he didn’t take a shot, but assisted on Max Pomper’s goal early in the second quarter to start a streak of four games in a row with an assist.
Thompson leads UVa middies with nine assists to go along with eight goals.He has scored 37 goals in his career and needs just three go become only the 11th middie in ACC history to score 40 goals and add 40 assists in a career; he has 41 career assists.
Finding a Way to Win
Virginia posted a perfect 17-0 record last season, winning by an average of 8.24 goals per game. Only two games were decided by fewer than five goals and just one by one goal (7-6 win over Princeton).
This season things are quite different. The team has not found scoring goals as easy as last year and has played many more close games as a result.
The Cavaliers have played six one-goal games, the most in the history of the program. They have found a way to win with victories in four of them. The four one-goal wins are tied for the most in the country heading into the playoffs. They are also tied with the 1988 squad for the most in school history.
Virginia has also played more one-goal games this season than any team in the country except Hofstra, who played eight (1-7).