Offseason Arrives Too Early for Cavaliers

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In men’s lacrosse, the University of Virginia shouldn’t have to endure a rebuild, says head coach Lars Tiffany. “It should be a reload.”

That’s the expectation for a program that has won seven NCAA titles, two of them under Tiffany. He knows that the reality, however, is sometimes different. From a team that advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 2024, UVA lost such several mainstays, including Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier—attackmen who rank among the greatest offensive talents in the history of the sport—and All-America defenseman Cole Kastner.

“That makes it a little bit of a rebuild when you’re trying to replace Shellenberger, Cormier and, obviously, Cole Kastner at the far end,” Tiffany said.

Other challenges arose in his ninth season at UVA. Three freshman attackmen—five-star recruits Kyle Colsey, Sean Browne and Ryan Duenkel—had to redshirt this season while recovering from surgeries, and junior Joey Terenzi, a projected starter in the midfield, was limited to three games because of injuries.

“And so then when you don’t have as much ammunition as you expected, it makes it difficult,” Tiffany said.

Even so, “other guys stepped up,” Tiffany said, pointing to the contributions of McCabe Millon, Truitt Sunderland, Ryan Colsey (Kyle’s brother) and Will Inderlied, among others.

“But we were a little under-gunned, with a little less ammunition than we thought we’d have,” Tiffany said, “and that was especially magnified because of the graduation losses of Shellenberger and Cormier.”

What senior defenseman George Fulton called “a turbulent season” ended Saturday in heartbreaking fashion for the Wahoos. Against their ACC nemesis, Duke, the Hoos trailed 3-0 less than two minutes into the game, but they pulled themselves together and battled back before a boisterous crowd at Klöckner Stadium.

Twice in the second half Virginia went ahead, first when senior Thomas Mencke scored an unassisted goal with 5:07 left in the third quarter and then when senior Jack Walshe passed to Sunderland for a goal that made it 9-8 with 8:09 to play in the fourth quarter. But the No. 9 Blue Devils scored with 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the game went to overtime.

The Cavaliers had multiple chances in the extra period. Duke goalie Patrick Jameison made two superb saves in OT, however, and the Devils scored with 27 seconds left to win 9-8 and dash Virginia’s hopes of advancing to the postseason.

“We’re all gutted inside that the season’s over,” Tiffany said. “We just want more time together, and that’s what we just talked about in [the locker room]. We want Matt Nunes back in the goal. We want all those defensemen in front of them and the leadership from Ben Wayer, Noah Chizmar, Jack Walshe. But you gotta win the game, and we didn’t do that. But I am just incredibly grateful for the intensity, the ferocity that we played defense with after the first two minutes, the passion that we competed with … I think we did put forward an incredible effort today.”

Sunderland, a junior, led the Cavaliers with a game-high three goals, and Mencke added two goals. Senior midfielder Griffin Schutz and Millon, a sophomore attackman, each had one goal and three assists. In goal, Nunes made 11 saves, and he closed his career with 657 saves, second-most in program history.

Virginia won 11 of 21 faceoffs Saturday and collected 46 ground balls, to 28 for Duke (11-4, 2-2).

“We showed the hearts of lions,” Tiffany said, “and the men did everything a coaching staff could have ever asked for.”

UVA finished 6-8, its first losing season since 2016. The Cavaliers, who went 0-4 in ACC play, will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017, their first season under Tiffany.

“This is certainly a dark year and a dark day for Virginia lacrosse, for myself, for my teammates, for our alumni, for the fans,” said Fulton, who picked up a game-high eight ground balls Saturday. “There’s not many happy campers here, but this team has a really, really bright future, and these guys are going to have a hell of a fall. And the effort is certain, and I think with that effort, that’ll yield some results in [next] spring. And I’m really excited to see it happen, although I’ll be sitting on that couch.”

Of the top 20 teams in the latest U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches’ poll, Virginia played eight: No. 2 Maryland, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Duke, No. 10 Syracuse, No. 11 Richmond and No. 16 Towson.

UVA went 1-7 against those teams, defeating only Towson. But if the 2025 Cavaliers’ execution left much to be desired at times, their effort level and commitment never waned.

“It really is a close-knit team,” Tiffany said, “and that’s hard to do when you lose as many games as we did.”

Junior defenseman John Schroter said this “has been the closest team that I’ve ever been a part of. These guys are my best friends, and emotions are obviously very high. These are guys that I know I’m gonna be friends with for the rest of my life.”

3 The Cavaliers’ captains—Wayer, Chizmar and Walshe—set the standard, and their teammates followed their lead.

“I don’t know how they did it,” Tiffany said, “but every week, we had supercharged Tuesday practices and Wednesday practices. And we were gung ho, believing we’re going to win this weekend, despite not having the greatest success the weekend before. It’s a real testament to the men and their belief in themselves.”

To finish “6-8 is not acceptable,” Tiffany said. “I didn’t do my job well, and we have to make sure we get the right men in the right places.” The team’s culture, though, is strong, he added, and “the seniors and the legacy that they’ve left, we’ve got to maintain that.”

The defeat devastated the Cavaliers, who would have earned a spot in the four-team ACC tournament with a win. As the Blue Devils celebrated, the Hoos consoled each other, sharing tearful embraces.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done on the field,” Fulton said. “We talked about it in [the locker room]. We came up short in a lot of ways. We came up short on defense, on offense, in just about every phase of the game. This Virginia team was not the standard that our alumni and we expect out of ourselves. But we were not short on love. And that’s something I’ll remember for a long time. And this team was the most fun I’ve had across my entire life and that is part of why this is so sad that it’s over, because tomorrow morning we’re not gonna get up and do our normal Sunday and go lift and go watch film. We’re not gonna be together, and that no doubt is the hardest part.”

Of the four players who totaled at least 25 points apiece this season, only Schutz (25) is out of eligibility. Sunderland led the Hoos with 51 points (32 goals, 19 assists), and Millon was second with 50 (23 goals, 27 assists). Colsey, a junior, tallied 40 points (29 goals, 11 assists).

Others expected back next season include close defensemen Luke Hublitz, Tommy Snyder and Schroter, short-stick defensive midfielders Will Erdmann, JP Lagunowich and Hudson Hausmann, middies Johnny Hackett and Charles Balsamo, goalie Kyle Morris and faceoff specialists Andrew Greenspan and Henry Metz.

When the Cavaliers reconvene in September to start fall practice, Browne, Ryan Colsey, Duenkel and Terenzi should be available too.

Reflecting on UVA’s season, Fulton said, “I think we did a lot of things well and we did a lot of things not well. It’s very clear the things we didn’t do well, but I think we did some things well that hopefully will pay dividends in the future.”

Asked what the Hoos must do to regain their customary status in the lacrosse world, Fulton said, “I don’t know if I can answer that question, but what I do know is that this team is going to come back with a lot of energy next fall, and they’re going to battle.”

The offseason is officially under way for the Cavaliers, and Tiffany said he and assistants Kevin Cassese, Kip Turner and Logan Greco “are certainly going to take the opportunity to learn from a tough season, what we didn’t do well as coaches, and we have to address needs up and down the lineup.”

Tiffany noted that it’s “so easy to say, ‘6-8, let’s wash our hands of that season and move forward,’ and we will have to, no matter what. I don’t want to move forward from these men, though.”

Standing in the shadow of the bleachers, Tiffany  pointed to the opposite side of Klöckner, a popular spot for fans to watch games. The college careers of many players he loves and admires ended Saturday, and “I hate the fact that the next time they’re at Klöckner, they’re over on that side, instead of right here,” Tiffany said. “I’m going to really miss them.”

The feeling is mutual. Long after the stands had emptied at Klöckner, Walshe approached Tiffany and thanked him.

“It’s hard to say goodbye,” Walshe said.

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