Cavaliers Host UAlbany in Midweek Matinee

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (3-4) returns to Klöckner Stadium for the second time in the last four days to host UAlbany (2-5) Tuesday afternoon (March 18). Opening faceoff is set for 4 p.m. on ACC Network Extra and WINA (1070-AM/98.9-FM). 

SERIES HISTORY 

• Virginia is 2-0 all-time against the Great Danes with the inaugural meeting coming in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament and most recent in last year’s regular-season contest, both of which were contested at Klöckner Stadium. 
• In the 2005 matchup, Virginia used an 11-goal first half run to build a 15-3 halftime lead. 
• The Hoos’ 23 goals tied the program record for most goals by UVA in an NCAA Tournament contest. 
• The game was held up for 45 minutes due to thunderstorms in the Charlottesville area. 
• Virginia’s Kyle Dixon (3g, 3a) led the effort with six points. 
• Current UVA assistant coach Kip Turner earned the win in net. 

LAST TIME THEY MET 

• In the second and most recent matchup of the series, a 16-10 win for the Hoos, former attackman Connor Shellenberger became the program’s career points record holder. Shellenberger, who had one goal and five assists, went on to finish his career with 131 goals and 192 assists.  
• The Great Danes led for more than 23 minutes of game time in the first half before a furious third quarter propelled the Cavaliers to victory. 
• With the win, head coach Lars Tiffany tallied the 200th of his career. 
• Virginia’s McCabe Millon and Payton Cormier notched five goals each, and netminder Matthew
• Nunes finished with 12 saves while allowing only five goals in nearly 50 minutes of action. 
• UAlbany attackman Silas Richmond finished with a game-high seven goals and former LSM Jake Piseno scored two goals, and logged four ground balls and three caused turnovers. 

SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES 

• Despite its 2-5 record, UAlbany has played four teams that were ranked in the March 10 edition of the USILA coaches poll: No. 12 Georgetown, No. 15 Colgate, No. 17 Penn and No. 19 UMass. 
• The Great Danes were voted by America East head coaches in the league’s preseason poll to repeat as conference champions. 
• Like Virginia, UAlbany has been stout on man-down as the Great Danes have killed of all 15 opposing EMO chances this season. 
• UA also has two of the most productive attackmen in the country in Silas Richmond and RyanDoherty. 
• Richmond, who scored seven goals in last year’s regular-season game against the Hoos, is 11th among all Division-I players in assists per game (2.50), which also leads the America East. 
• Doherty leads the AE in goals per game (3.17), good for 14th among all DI players. The sophomore attackman had nine goals and an assist in UA’s 17-10 win over Hobart (March 8), which tied the program’s single-game goals record held by legendary brothers Lyle and Miles Thompson. 
• UA lost its first-team All-American LSM Jake Piseno, also last year’s national defensive player of the year, to graduation. Piseno was selected ninth overall by the Denver Outlaws in last year’s Premier Lacrosse League college draft. 
• UAlbany is led by Scott Marr, who is in his 25th season as Great Dane head coach. Marr played attack at Johns Hopkins from 1987-90 and was an assistant coach at Delaware (1992-94) and Maryland (1995-2000) prior to becoming UA’s head coach for the 2001 season. 

LAST TIME OUT 

• Top-ranked Maryland outscored then-No. 18 Virginia 5-1 in both the first and fourth quarters on the way to its 12-6 victory over the Cavaliers at Klöckner Stadium last Saturday (March 15). 
• Despite trailing by as many as five goals in the first, UVA cut its deficit to as little as one goal twice, but the Terrapins’ second 5-0 run of the game helped them pull away in the fourth.  
• Maryland goalie Logan McNaney finished with a game-high 13 saves after facing 36 UVA shots.
• The Hoos held the edge in ground balls [32-33], turnovers [20-9] and shots [36-30], but UMD was able to make the most of its scoring chances throughout to remain undefeated on the year. 
• Virginia was led by defensive midfielders Ben Wayer (6gb, 2ct) and Noah Chizmar (6gb, 2ct). 
• Six Cavaliers found the back of the net, including short-stick defensive midfielder Will Erdmann, who notched his first career goal in the second quarter. 
• Coming off an impressive performance against Towson last week, goalie Matthew Nunes (1-1) started in net for the Hoos, which also marked the 50th of his career. 

VIRGINIA’S STINGY MAN-DOWN UNIT 

• Virginia’s man-down defense is much improved from last year to this. 
• Through their first seven games this season, the Cavaliers have only surrendered four goals on 30 opponent extra-man opportunities, a clip of 86.7 percent, which leads the ACC and is fourth nationally as of March 17. 
• Last year, UVA opponents scored on 50.9 percent (28-55) of their EMO chances. 
• UVA’s man-down unit is coached by assistant coach and former UVA close defenseman Logan Greco ’19. 

ON THE HORIZON 

• The Cavaliers continue their four-game homestand on Saturday (March 22), when they host Utah (1-6). 
• Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for noon on ACC Network Extra. 
• Saturday’s game is dedicated to the One Love Foundation. 
• In their season opener, the Utes knocked off then-No. 19 Ohio State, but have dropped six in a row, including their last two by a combined margin of three goals.