Petey LaSalla

TIFFANY ON LASALLA
2023 – “He is still here?  For four years Petey has proven to be the most dangerous well-rounded faceoff man in the nation.  Petey is a throw-back in an era of specialization, attacking the opposing defense as a dodger from all angles, including from behind the goal with a single invert or a part of the two-man game.  Petey despises the coaching staff’s ideas of restricting the number of draws he takes as he is not interested in the “pitch count” analogy:  he wants to be out there for every single one.” 2022 – “Never met a squat rack he hasn’t dominated … An elite stay-and-play faceoff man, he creates and exploits advantageous matchups with an offensive acumen and stickhandling that is rare for his position… Craves the biggest of stages and moments… Teammates lean on him for possessions, and laughs.” 2021 – “Hits the ignition switch for our team … attacks the cage relentlessly … nothing in the weight room is too heavy … adapting to the new faceoff rules … fearless in pressurized moments.” 2020 – ‘What makes Petey the difference-maker he became in 2019?  His control of the ball with his exits improved dramatically last season.  But in addition, the lacrosse acumen he brings to the field allows this man to play a surprising variety of roles and to shatter the term specialist.  How often do we throw a pass to a FO man?  Petey’s teammates do this without reservation, and his impact on the offense can expand this spring.” 2019 – “Perceptive of offensive opportunities and subtleties, this quiet, unassuming and hard-charging first-year faceoff man is proving to be more than just a specialist at the X.”

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• UVA’s career record holder for faceoff wins (1,050) and ground balls (525)
• His 1,050 career faceoff wins was also good for No. 4 all-time in NCAA Division-I history
• NCAA Division-I record holder for faceoff attempts (1,781)
• UVA’s single-season record holder for faceoff wins (277) and ground balls (137), both of which he set in 2021
• UVA’s record holder for faceoff wins (173) and ground balls (85) in NCAA Tournament games

2023

• Appeared in all 17 possible games
• Went 269-for-485 (.555) at the faceoff X
• Scored 12 goals and dished out one assist
• Led Virginia with 135 ground balls on the season
• USILA Third Team All-American (May 25)
• All-ACC selection (May 9)
• Inside Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American (May 17)
• Selected No. 6 in the second round (14th overall) by the Whipsnakes in the PLL Draft (May 9)
• USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-American (May 9)
• Tewaaraton Award Watch List
• Inside Lacrosse Honorable Mention Preseason All-American
• USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention Preseason All-American
• Preseason All-ACC Team
• Drafted fourth in the third round (No. 47 overall) of the 2022 NLL Draft by Panther City
• All-ACC Academic Team
• ACC Academic Honor Roll

2022

• Made 16 appearances in which he went 215-360 (.597) in faceoffs and collected 113 ground balls
• USILA Third Team All-American (May 26)
• Inside Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention (May 15)
• All-ACC selection (May 12)
• USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-American (May 10)
• USILA Scholar All-American (June 20)
• VaSID All-State Team (June 29)
• Led the ACC and was eighth in the nation in faceoff win percentage
• His 215 faceoff wins was fourth all-time on UVA’s single-season list
• His 113 ground balls was fourth all-time on UVA’s single-season list
• Finished 19-for-30 (.633) at faceoff-X and collected 11 ground balls in UVA’s NCAA First Round win at No. 8 seed Brown (May 14)
• Posted a career-high three points with two goals and one assist at Syracuse (April 23)
• Shattered UVA’s all-time ground balls record in his 55th career game at Duke (April 14)
• Recorded a career-best .900 (9-10) faceoff win percentage in Virginia’s 19-8 win over then-No. 14/15 Johns Hopkins (March 5)
• Shattered UVA’s all-time faceoff wins record in his 48th career game (vs. Syracuse, Feb. 26)
• ACC Defensive Player of the Week (March 1)
• USILA Divison-I Team-of-the-Week selection (March 1)
• Tewaaraton Award Watch List selection
• Preseason All-ACC selection
• Inside Lacrosse Second Team Preseason All-American
• USILA Second Team Preseason All-American
• USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Second Team All-American

2021

• USILA All-American (2nd)
• Inside Lacrosse All-American (2nd)
• USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American (3rd)
• All-ACC selection
• All-NCAA Tournament Team
• All-ACC Academic selection
• No. 12 in the nation with a 62.4 faceoff winning percentage
• No. 1 in the nation with 277 faceoff wins
• Broke the UVA single-season record for faceoff wins with 277
• Became the first Cavalier to win 200+ faceoffs at a rate of 60 percent or better
• Set the UVA record for single-season games with 20+ faceoff wins (5), which is also a UVA career record
• No. 3 in the nation with 137 ground balls
• Set UVA single-season record with 137 ground balls
• Scored 10 goals and dished out seven assists
• Scored two goals against Air Force
• Scored one goal and dished one assist in the NCAA title win over Maryland
• ACC Defensive Player of the Week (March 23)
• VaSID Defensive Player of the Year and All-State for faceoffs

2020

• Appeared in all six of UVA’s games
• Finished third in the ACC with a .593 faceoff winning percentage
• Finished third in the ACC with 6.67 ground ball per game
• Scored a goal against Princeton, while picking up 11 ground balls
• Won 18 faceoffs, assisted a goal and picked up 13 ground balls against High Point

2019

• College Crosse (SB Nation) Freshman All-American (1st)
• Appeared in all 20 of UVA’s games
• Finished first in the ACC with 100 ground balls
• Finished second in the ACC and No. 21 in the nation with a .587 faceoff winning percentage
• Finished with eight ground balls and one assist
• His 216 faceoff wins rank No. 2 all-time on UVA’s single-season ledger
• Won the game’s final eight faceoffs (two in OT) against Duke in the NCAA semifinal win
• Won the game’s last seven face-offs (one in OT) against Maryland in the NCAA quarterfinal win
• Was a perfect 6-of-6 in overtime faceoffs
• Scored two goals off faceoffs in UVA’s NCAA title win over Yale
• Scored three goals during Championship Weekend in Philadelphia
• Scored two goals at Johns Hopkins
• Picked up 12 ground balls against Richmond

HIGH SCHOOL

• Listed as the No. 94 recruit in the country by Inside Lacrosse
• Listed as the No. 8 faceoff specialist in the country by Inside Lacrosse
• Two-time US Lacrosse All-American
• First Rocky Point student-athlete in history to be named a US All-American two years in a row
• Two-time all-state
• Newsday first-team All-Long Island
• Three-time all-county
• Three-time all-division
• Suffolk County’s Most Outstanding Midfielder in 2017 and 2018
• FLG first-team Goat Award in 2018
• Team MVP in 2016, 2017 and 2018
• Newsday Top 100 Player in 2017 and 2018
• Won 80.38 percent of his career faceoffs
• Also played running back and linebacker on the football team
• Holds school record for most touchdowns in a season with 20 in 2017
• Football team MVP in 2017
• Holds the school record for most career touchdowns with 43

PERSONAL

• Son of Ellise and Peter LaSalla
• Has an older brother, Nick, who played lacrosse at Belmont Abbey College and SUNY Oneonta
• Has a younger brother, Vincent
• Major is American Studies