Virginia Welcomes Utah for One Love Game

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –Virginia (4-4) enters the back half of its four-game homestand Saturday (March 22), when the Cavaliers welcome Utah (1-6) for their penultimate non-conference game of the regular season. Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for noon on ACC Network Extra.

Saturday’s game is also the Cavaliers’ annual One Love game. Created in 2010 to honor the memory of former Virginia women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love, the One Love Foundation is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, empower and activate young people in a movement to end relationship violence and to promote healthy relationships in its place.

PARKING & SHUTTLE INFORMATION
Fans are encouraged to arrive early due to expected heavy traffic from concurrent Athletics events on Saturday. A free shuttle service will operate between the Emmet/Ivy Garage and Disharoon Park/Klöckner Stadium ticket office from noon until 8 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

• Virginia leads the all-time series with Utah, 2-0.
• The previous two meetings occurred during the 2019 and 2021 regular seasons, and the Cavaliers went on to win the national championships both years.
• In their 18-11 victory in 2021, the Cavaliers held Utah scoreless for 20:52 between the second and third quarters, and Petey LaSalla won 20 faceoffs to become only the third Cavalier to tally at least 500 career wins at the center X.
• In 2019, UVA tallied its seventh consecutive win of what ultimately became an eight-game win streak, its longest since 2012. Michael Kraus (3g, 2a) and LaSalla (12-15 FO) led the Hoos’ effort in the 17-6 win.

SCOUTING THE UTES

• In its season opener on Feb. 1, Utah knocked off then-No. 19 Ohio State, 19-13, in Columbus, Ohio.
• Since its season-opening victory, the Utes have dropped six straight games, including their last two by three goals combined.
• Utah is in its seventh year as a Division-I program and holds an all-time record of 47-38.
• The Utes are in their fourth season in the ASUN conference and coming off three consecutive ASUN regular season titles (2022-24) and back-to-back ASUN championships (2023-24).
• Utah earned the top spot in this year’s ASUN preseason poll, which marked fourth consecutive year it has been voted the top team by the league’s head coaches.
• The Utes are led by Andrew McMinn, who is in his fourth season at Utah. Prior to his tenure with the Utes, McMinn spent 10 seasons as the head coach at Robert Morris.

LAST TIME OUT

• Virginia goalie Matthew Nunes (2-1) made 14 saves to lead the Cavaliers in their 12-9 win over UAlbany (2-6) at Klöckner Stadium this past Tuesday evening (March 18).
• Nunes’ 14 saves elevated him to No. 3 on UVA’s career leaders list, surpassing Adam Ghitelman in the process. He now has 591 career saves.
• Seven Cavaliers found the back of the net, including Truitt Sunderland and McCabe Millon, who led the Hoos with three goals apiece. Millon also chipped in an assist. UVA got a nice lift from its second-line midfield, consisting of Charles Balsamo (1g), Thomas Mencke (1g, 1a) and Jack Walshe (1g), all of whom scored one goal each.
• For the second consecutive game, Virginia was perfect on every single one of its clear attempts (23-23), while forcing six UAlbany fails (23-29) on the other end.
• With the win, Virginia (4-4) pulled back to .500 on the season and improved 3-0 in the all-time series with the Great Danes, which began in 2005.

VIRGINIA’S STINGY MAN-DOWN UNIT

• Virginia’s man-down defense is much improved from last year to this.
• Through their first eight games this season, the Cavaliers have only surrendered four goals on 34 opponent extra-man opportunities, a clip of 88.2 percent, which leads the ACC and is good for fourth nationally.
• 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. 

HOOS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS

• In addition to being No. 4 among all Division-I teams in man-down defense, Virginia is sixth nationally in ground balls (36.00/gm), 14th in caused turnovers (10.00/gm) and 16th in opponent clear percentage (.813).
• Among all DI players, Ryan Colsey and Truitt Sunderland are tied for 22nd with three man-up goals each. Sunderland is also 23rd in points (4.38/gm) and assists (1.88/gm). LSM Ben Wayer is 25th in ground balls (5.63/gm).

THE CAVALIERS AT KLÖCKNER STADIUM

• Virginia owns a 183-49 (.789) all-time record at Klöckner Stadium, including a 3-2 mark in 2025, and has won 19 of its last 25 games played at the historic edifice.
• The Cavaliers’ average margin of victory in their last 25 games at Klöckner Stadium is 5.3 goals.
• Virginia is 57-17 (.770) all-time at Klöckner Stadium under head coach Lars Tiffany.
• UVA is also 15-3 all-time at Klöckner Stadium in NCAA Tournament contests.
• Lacrosse debuted in Klöckner Stadium in 1993.

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers conclude their four-game homestand next Saturday (March 29), when they open ACC play by hosting Syracuse (6-2).
• Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and WINA (1070-AM/98.9-FM).
• The Orange are ranked No. 10 in the most recent editions of both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse weekly polls.
• Next Saturday’s game against the Orange is Military/First Responder Appreciation Day. Further details are expected to be announced next week.