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Fresh off their epic (and historic) 7-overtime victory last Saturday over Maryland, the Virginia Cavaliers have another opportunity at a historic event. They face North Carolina Saturday in the first game of the Inside Lacrosse Big City Classic in the first lacrosse game ever played at Giants Stadium.
For many of the Cavaliers from the northeast corridor, who also happen to be New York Giants fans, the game is an exciting one.
“It’s really cool and I’m very excited,” said junior defenseman Ryan Nizolek, a Connecticut native who is a big Giants fan. “Growing up going to watch the Giants and Jets and finally (getting to) walk into the same stadium they walk through is pretty cool. The Baltimore kids had their chance the past two years (in the Faceoff Classic) to play in the same stadium as the (Baltimore) Ravens … but now it’s the northern boys’ turn to get a shot at (playing in their team’s stadium).”
The excitement of the event as well as the thrill of last weekend’s dramatic win over Maryland has made for a lively week of preparations as the team readies itself for the Tar Heels.
“I haven’t really sensed a let down from anybody,” said head coach Dom Starsia. “This is a team that is very attentive on the practice field. We’ve to a little bounce in our step the last couple days and I fully expect us to be ready to play the Tar Heels.”
But those expecting a Terrapin hangover are likely to be disappointed.
“The world is waiting to see whether or not we’re going to let down and I just told the kids, let’s not let it happen,’” said Starsia. “If we play our best lacrosse and North Carolina happens to beat us, so be it, but I don’t think it’s going to be because of what went on this past weekend.”
The Cavaliers might have an advantage in their preparations, as both Maryland and North Carolina are similar teams; they even played a 1-goal game earlier this season that saw Maryland pull out an 8-7 win two weeks ago.
“They have nice balance all over the field,” said Starsia. “They’ve got a fifth-year (Grant Zimmerman) in the goal. They’re a little bit new at the defensive end of the field, but their goalie is their defining element at that end of the field, so when he plays well they’re very good defensively.
“Offensively they’ve got a couple of outstanding guys. When their first six is in the box, with (Billy) Bitter and (Ben) Hunt and (Sean) Delaney and some of these guys, they are very good. They’re excellent facing off; (Shane) Walterhoefer is probably the best faceoff kid in the country so they can get the ball back there.”
Walterhoefer has won an amazing 65 percent of his faceoffs and leads the nation by a wide margin. His winning ability has also helped him average 7.73 ground balls per game, second in the nation.
Senior attackman Bart Wagner leads the offense with 24 goals, while midfielder Sean Delaney’s 23 goals are the most in the country by a middie. The junior from Moorestown, N.J., scored just 22 goals in his first two years in Chapel Hill. Bitter leads the team with 36 points (20 goals, team-leading 16 assists).
Zimmerman has stopped 55.3 percent of the shots on goal while relinquishing an average of 7.61 goals per game.
One sticking point for the Tar Heels is the fact that they haven’t defeated an ACC opponent since 2004, an 11-9 win over Virginia.
The lack of ACC success is one the Cavaliers haven’t focused on as they prepare for this match-up.
“North Carolina is a quality lacrosse program so they clearly are going to get that win sometime in the near future,” said Starsia. “It probably gives them a little greater urgency as they move forward, but we’ve just got to take care of our own business.”
The last two times the teams have met Virginia has gained an overtime win. Last year Steve Giannone scored the winner, while Garrett Billings was the hero two years ago.
With an undefeated record and a No. 1 ranking, comparisons to the 2006 squad crop up.
“I would tell you they are vastly different squads,” said Starsia. “With this team we’re clearly not overpowering opponents the way that we did in 2006, but we’re finding a way to win. We don’t seem to get discouraged late in these games. If that’s a characteristic of this team and it helps to carry us through to the end of the year, I like our chances as we go forward.”
One thing Starsia points to is his team’s maturity. Billings Danny Glading, Matt Kelly, Mike Timms and several others played key roles as freshmen in 2006 and have had a wide range of experiences throughout their careers. The Cavaliers don’t want to get caught looking too far ahead, even with some significant goals ahead.
“We’re not even 12 months removed from having lost in the semifinals, so I think everybody can have that in mind knowing that we’re just barely into the month of April and really what we want to attain is still ahead.
“I’m not going to dismiss everything that we’ve been through because there’ve been some unbelievable games and some great moments. But mostly we have to continue to take this in small bites and continue to improve and continue to get ready to go forward. The big things are still out there for us and we’re just not trying to get too far ahead of ourselves and I have older players on this team that are helping everybody stay grounded as we consider each of these games that we’re getting ready for.”