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No. 2 UVa Hosts No. 20 Ohio State Saturday in First Series Meeting Since 2001
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (6-1) are ranked No. 2 this week in both the USILA coaches and Nike/Inside Lacrosse media polls after defeating a strong Vermont squad and No. 14 Cornell last week. UVa hosts the Ohio State Buckeyes (5-2), ranked No. 20 in both polls, on Saturday afternoon, inside Klöckner Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 3 p.m. and the Cavaliers will be trying to win their 100th career game inside UVa’s home venue. UVa started playing games at Klöckner Stadium in 1993. Live stats will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
There will be a live radio broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA 1070 AM. John Freeman will bring the play-by-play and Doug Tarring will provide the analysis. The broadcast will also be webcast on VirginiaSports.com through Virginia Sports Online Radio.
Saturday marks the fifth all-time meeting between the Cavaliers and Buckeyes in men’s lacrosse and the first since 2001. UVa holds a 4-0 all-time advantage in the series and at one juncture scored 34-straight goals over a three-game span. The series began in 1968 in Charlottesville, but was discontinued until 1999. Three of the four previous contests in the all-time series have been played in Charlottesville, while UVa’s lone trip to Columbus in 2000 as the nation’s No. 1 team attracted a then OSU lacrosse attendance record of 1,855 fans filing into Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Virginia head coach Dom Starsia brings 322 career victories into the contest, needing five more triumphs to pass Jack Emmer (326) for most victories by a head coach while at a NCAA Division I school.
Steele Stanwick leads UVa with 27 points and 14 assists, while scoring 13 goals. Chris Bocklet is tops on the team with 19 goals and second with 22 points. Shamel Bratton is second on the team with 14 goals and third on the squad with 18 points. Colin Briggs and Mark Cockerton round out the top scorers with 10 and nine goals respectively. Chris LaPierre is tops on the team with 39 ground balls, while Matt Lovejoy has a team-best 12 caused turnovers. Bray Malphrus and Scott McWilliams are second with 11 caused turnovers.
Adam Ghitelman won his 43rd career game in the cage on Saturday against then-No. 14 Cornell and now owns the all-time ACC mark. Ghitelman’s next win puts him in a tie with UMBC’s Jeremy Blevins (2006-09) for No. 6 all-time at the NCAA Division I level. Ghitelman is saving 59 percent of shots against him and registering a 7.85 goals against average this season.
Ohio State’s head coach Nick Myers is in his third season and returns 32 letterwinners and six starters off of last year’s squad. Myers brings in an Ohio State team to Klöckner Stadium that already upset North Carolina, 13-8, when the Tar Heels were ranked No. 3 in the nation. Logan Schuss and Jeff Tundo lead the Buckeyes with 13 goals apiece. Schuss has a team-high nine assists and 22 points, also a squad best. Jarred Bowman and Tyler Frederick round out the top scorers with seven and six goals respectively. Keenan Ochwat is pacing the ground ball game with 15 and Greg Dutton is seeing the most time in the cage for the Buckeyes. The goalie is saving 54.1 percent of shots against him and is posting a 7.37 goals against average.
Tickets for Virginia home lacrosse games can be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone at (800) 542-8821 or in person at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Virginia lacrosse season tickets for 2011 are $30 (adult general admission) and $20 (youth, senior, faculty/staff general admission). Single-game tickets to lacrosse games are $7 (adult general admission), and $5 (youth, senior, faculty/staff general admission).
All reserved seats are sold out for the 2011 season.