No. 12 Virginia Travels to Ohio State for Road Opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 12 Virginia (2-1) looks to earn its second consecutive win on Saturday (Feb. 22), when the Cavaliers travel to Ohio State (4-1) for their first road contest of the season. Opening faceoff from Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium is set for noon on Big Ten Plus (B1G+).

After dropping their season opener to Utah [19-13], the Buckeyes have won four straight games.

A DUEL BETWEEN TWO OF THE NATION’S MOST POTENT OFFENSES

• Both Virginia and Ohio State have had two of the nation’s most productive attack units so far this season.
• UVA (44) and OSU (47) are the only two programs whose top-3 attackmen have combined for at least 44 points this season (as of Feb. 19).
• Virginia’s attack consists of Truitt Sunderland (10-6-16), Ryan Colsey (10-5-15) and McCabe Millon (4-9-13).
• Ohio State’s top producing attackmen are Alex Marinier (19-0-19), who leads the country in total goals, Garrett Haas (10-5-15) and Ed Shean (9-4-13).

MORE ON THE BUCKEYES

• Both UVA and OSU are top-10 nationally in caused turnovers and ground balls per game.
• Ohio State’s starting goalie Caleb Fyock is second nationally in goals-against average (4.85) and is fifth in save percentage (.654).
• OSU junior close defenseman Cullen Brown leads the Big Ten and is 16th nationally in caused turnovers per game (2.40). Against UVA in 2024, he had his second career assist and tallied five ground balls.

SERIES HISTORY

• Dating back to its inception in 1968, Virginia leads the all-time series over the Buckeyes, 8-1, including a 2-0 mark in Columbus.
• UVA has only faced the Buckeyes in true road games twice, but in separate venues. The Cavaliers’ first road game against OSU was in 2000, a 13-7 victory from Jesse Owens Stadium, and an 11-9 win at Ohio Stadium in 2012.
• The Cavaliers won the first six meetings between the two teams, a win streak that spanned from 1968 until 2013.
• OSU claimed its first win of the series in an 11-10 decision after 103-minute lightning delay at Klöckner Stadium on March 16, 2013. The Cavaliers had a chance to force overtime, but former OSU goalie Greg Dutton stopped Nick O’Reilly’s shot from the crease with five seconds remaining.
• Last season, No. 3 Virginia defeated the then-No. 20 Buckeyes, 14-8, at Klöckner Stadium after McCabe Millon led the attack with three goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Matthew Nunes tallied 17 saves as the Hoos recorded their third consecutive win over a ranked opponent at the time. Kyle Morris played the final 3:32 in goal. Ohio State goalkeeper Caleb Fyock also made 17 saves.
• The two teams met in the first-ever neutral site meeting last year at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples on Feb. 25, 2023. Payton Cormier scored a career-high seven goals, which tied for second in UVA single-game history. Virginia was ranked No. 1 at the time and the Buckeyes were No. 9.

LAST TIME OUT

• Attackman Ryan Colsey (6g, 3a) had a career night and led Virginia in its 17-8 bounce-back victory over High Point at Klöckner Stadium Tuesday evening (Feb 18).
• Including Colsey, nine Cavaliers found the back of the net. Truitt Sunderland added three goals and two assists. For the third consecutive game, McCabe Millon dished out three assists in addition to one goal, while Thomas Mencke scored a pair of goals.
• For the third straight game, the Hoos finished above .500 at the faceoff X.
• Kyle Morris (2-1) earned the win in-goal in his third start of the season. Matthew Nunes started the second half.

VIRGINIA IN THE POLLS

• Virginia, which is ranked No. 12 in this week’s edition USILA poll, fell out of the top-10 for the first time in the previous 61 editions of the poll.
• The last time the Cavaliers were not ranked in the top-10 was in the March 9, 2020, edition of the poll, which marked the final poll before the season was ultimately cancelled due to the onset of COVID-19.
• UVA has been in ranked in the top-5 of the USILA coaches poll in 342 weeks all-time.
• UVA has been ranked in the top-10 in 484 polls all-time.
• UVA has been ranked No. 1 in the nation in 70 all-time weekly polls.
• The USILA coaches poll began in 1973.

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers continue their three-game road stint on Saturday (March 1), when they travel to Johns Hopkins (4-0), which is ranked No. 4 in this week’s USILA coaches poll.
• Opening faceoff from Homewood Field is set for noon on ESPNU.