NCAA D1 - Virginia Beats UMass

From Inside Lacrosse - By Geoff Shannon

Three seasons ago, Virginia won the Division I lacrosse title with many of this year’s seniors watching from the sidelines as freshmen.  But in 2004, the program hit a low point, finishing at just 5-8 and out of the playoffs. Undaunted, the team entered the next season ready to make a championship run. It would take a freak storm and a last-second goal by eventual champion Johns Hopkins to end the Cavaliers’ title bid.

Now, the Virginia seniors — players like Matt Ward, Matt Poskay, and Kyle Dixon - have come full circle, winning the Men’s Division I National Championship with a convincing 15-7 victory over surprise finalist UMass in front of a record 47,062 fans at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

“We won a championship as freshman, and after having that year (2004) we knew we had to work hard. On the field someone asked if this is one of the greatest teams,” said senior midfielder Matt Poskay, who set a career record with five goals on the day. “I said I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s definitely one of the hardest working teams I’ve been on. Since day one this team’s put the work in, from the first guy on the field to last guy on the bench.”

In the process, they established the ’06 squad as one of the best in the history of men’s lacrosse. At 17-0, they tied the record for most victories in a season.

“This is a special group,” said head coach Dom Starsia, who takes home the third championship of his career at Virginia. “This team, as much as any I’ve been a part of, has taken its lead from the older guys. They’re a respectful bunch, a thoughtful group who committed to this and never wavered.”

Ward, the team’s sparkplug on offense, was the star of the Championship Game, scoring five goals on the day while being named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. He also broke the NCAA Tournament record for goals, scoring 16 during the run to best Gary Gait’s previous record of 15, set in 1990.

Ward worked the crease effectively, finding open shots and winning the battle against imposing UMass All-American defender Jack Reid, who was forced to play a bit off the attackman to compensate for Virginia’s scoring other threats.

“We really had to work hard defensively to slide to people who had the ball for them,” says Reid. “It created a lot of opportunities for him to set up the shot before I could engage him. You have to tip the cap to him for burying his shots.”

Poskay also had a solid game, putting up five goals, a career record, to end the season with 43 goals, the most ever by a Virginia midfielder. The defense, led by senior defender Mike Culver, was also effective, neutralizing UMass star attackman Sean Morris and holding him to just two assists.

Minuteman freshman goalie Doc Schneider played tough early, making 10 saves to start the game before Virigina’s offense unloaded on him. Cavs’ goalie Kip Turner was also effective between the pipes, though he faced fewer shots and made just six saves on the day.

UMass kept it tight, working the ball well in the first half while holding Virginia to a 5-4 lead heading into halftime. Shot placement was an issue for the Cavs through the first 30 minutes, as they fired 29 shots on goal while sticking just five.

“We were a little stubborn shooting the ball,” says Starsia. “We got a little addicted to the top pipe, and we got just a little bit smarter shooting in the third quarter. I thought the big boys, Dixon, Poskay, Ward, stepped up and made plays in the third quarter.”

UMass junior midfielder Brett Garber scored early in the third to tie the game at 5-5, but the offensive flood gates would open for Virginia following the shot.

Ward put up his third goal on the day at the 12:42 mark, taking a cross-crease feed from junior Drew Thompson to make it 6-5. The Cavs scored again a few minutes later, with senior Kyle Dixon notching his 19th goal of the season on a man-up opportunity after a cross-check penalty on UMass.

Minuteman Senior midfielder Jamie Yaman scored on a feed from Morris at the 7:59 mark in the third to make it 7-6, but the Cavs would respond with six unanswered goals, including three from Poskay and two from Ward, to take a commanding 13-6 lead deep into the fourth.

“It was an unspoken bond between the kids on the team,” says Ward. “When they were making a run on us, we knew we needed to stop that and go on a run of our own. And I think that was a characteristic of this team all year. Whenever teams started making a run on us, we calmed the storm and made our own run.”

Poskay opened Virginia’s scoring on the day, putting up his first goal to start the opening quarter with a stick-side high shot from about 10 yards off an assist from Dixon. The strike came less than a minute into the game. With the goal, Poskay broke Virgina’s all-time career midfielder goals record, marking up his 38th score.

UMass senior attackman Clay Stabert evened it up at the 10:49 mark, blowing by Cavs midfielder Foster Gilbert on a run from behind the cage to the left side to even it at 1-1.

Poskay scored his second of the day, dumping one in on the doorstep from a behind-the-cage feed from freshman Danny Glading to make it 2-1. Glading then followed up with a goal of his own, scoring on top of the crease on a fast-break assist from sophomore attackman Ben Rubeor, which started when freshman defenseman Matt Kelly took a shot off the helmet on the defensive side.

UMass staged an offensive comeback in the second quarter, slowing their possessions down and using their athleticism to work for shots.

Sophomore midfielder Rory Pedrick, who found himself perched on top of the crease, scored on an assist from Morris to make it 4-2 at the 9:39 mark. Long-stick face-off man Jake Deane, who went 1-6 on draws in the first quarter, won the ensuing face-off, ran the fast break and scored on Turner. Freshman attackman Jim Connelly also scored for UMass, firing in one on an assist from senior midfielder Jamie Yaman.

Ward scored Virginia’s only goal of the quarter, muscling his way past Reid at the 7:32 mark from behind the cage, making the score 5-4 heading into half.

Despite the loss, the championship was a watershed mark that held several firsts for UMass. This was the first ever championship game for the program since the program's inception in 1954. UMass also successfully completed the most difficult path to the championship game ever in tournament history, defeating three teams seeded sixth or higher during on their way to Philadelphia. That honor was previously held by Maryland in 1997, which beat teams seeded seventh or higher.

“It’s a heck of a team they [Virginia] put together,” said Cannella. “They’re tremendous all over the field. I thought our guys fought back early in the game. We were down 4-1 and it looked like it was going to cave in on us. But our guys fought back and we have a lot to be proud of.”

With such a dominating season for 17-0 Virginia, the question is now raised...is this the most perfect season ever in DI men’s lacrosse history?

“I would hate describe anything as perfect that I was involved in,” joked Starsia. “But it’s pretty darn good, and pretty darn close.”