Hoos Your Lax: A Virginia Lacrosse Blog

What the Fuck

2010-05-03T23:30:00.000-04:00

They're saying number eleven on the left murdered someone, last night

In a story that still has my head spinning, UVA mens lacrosse short stick midfielder senior George Huguely was arrested at around 6:00am today, for the murder of Yeardley Love, UVA womens lacrosse senior defender.

The charge is first degree murder and whereas I am not an attorney I know enough about the law to know that such a quick turnaround on this kind of charge tends to indicate the authorities are fairly certain about how events leading to Yeardley's death transpired.

According to available reporting, and this is still a very raw story, around 2:15am this morning, Monday, someone at Yeardley's apartment, which from this video looks like it is on Fourteenth Street in the student ghetto, and this was confirmed by the Daily Progress report, called in a report that someone else in the apartment, possibly Yeardley herself, was suffering from alcohol poisoning or an alcohol overdose.

To read into the reporting, it says the police were summoned, but you do not call the police for someone that is so drunk she is unresponsive, you call 911 and whereas the police may come along for any of a number of reasons, they are not the first responders for a medical emergency.

When when whatever authorities arrived though, they found clear evidence of quote physical violence unquote (op. cit.) and that is likely when the police got involved. There were no other suspects and George was arrested at his apartment around 6:00am.

This is a complete tragedy and I am afraid there will be more to the story. No one knows really what happened at this point, everyone is just relinking to and retelling the same set of stories from Charlottesville. To wit:

Both were fourth year students and were set to graduate this month. George and Yeardley were in a relationship at some point, the status of that relationship factors into this investigation.

Apparently Yeardley's roommates thought she was comatose drunk and not dead, or at least not dead as a result of physical violence, the initial report was alcohol poisoning, not dead roommate.

George was identified as a suspect and arrested almost immediately and without incident.

Obvious questions that come from the original reporting:

If Yeardley was found in her bed by her roommates and was already dead at that time, then the noted signs of violence would have already been present. How did it get reported as a case of extreme drunkenness by the roommates at the scene and then the cops, upon arriving, determined immediately that it was not a drunk roommate but rather a murdered one who died violently?

If no other suspects besides George were considered, what forms the quote sufficient probable cause unquote (ibid.) that implicates George so directly that he was arrested less than four hours after the original call? What was doing George at home when the police arrived? Was he asleep? Intoxicated? Packing to flee? Did he protest his innocence? Had he already lawyered up between 2:00am and 6:00am?

George and Yeardley were both contributors to their teams, though neither was a full time starter, both had seen action in every game, George was in the second midfield line for the men and Yeardley started three games on defense for the women. Both are from Maryland, Yeardley from Cockeysville north of Baltimore where she played at Notre Dame Prep and George from Chevy Chase where he played at the Landon School.

Yeardley's last game was last Friday, 30 April, following the womens semifinal loss to Maryland in the ACC Tournament last weekend, UVA did not let up, playing perennial national champion Northwestern in the regular season finale. George was on the field Saturday in the mens regular season finale win over Robert Morris.

This is a huge tragedy, my sincere condolences and thoughts go out to Yeardley's family and teammates and even though it might make me even sadder, I want to know what the fuck happened that she wound up dead and he got arrested for acting on a premeditated intent to kill.

UVA mens lacrosse senior after the ACC Championship: Virginia Sports / Matt Riley from here. Yeardly Love: Virginia Sports via here. George Huguely: Virginia Sports via here.

Separated

2010-04-22T20:30:00.000-04:00

Those two parts are supposed to be together

Monday on my way home from work I took a bad turn on my bike and wiped out, for my trouble I separated my right shoulder, medically a sprain between grades three and five. Needles to say typing is somewhat troublesome so the gamewrap from the Duke loss and previews for this weekend's ACC Mens Lacrosse Tournament are on hold, I can still bang out a Twitter post so check me there for the time being.

Let's just beat the frigging Blue Devils one time, ok guys?

X-ray image of my right shoulder by the helpful folks at the Arlington County Hospital emergency room.

Mens Game 12: UVA Cavaliers (11-0) vs. Duke Blue Devils (10-3)

2010-04-17T17:00:00.011-04:00

vs.

Faceoff: The number one ranking on the line as UVA closes out ACC conference play at home versus Duke, 8:30pm ET on ESPN U, after tonight it's let the tournaments begin.

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Quick jump to

The Story So Far :: Hoos Your Lax aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table :: Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia

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The Story so Far: With only four teams playing mens ACC lacrosse, it has been a quick conference schedule for the University of Virginia mens lacrosse team, they won a squeaker two weeks ago at Maryland and won ugly last week against Carolina, since then junior goalie Adam Ghitelman was named ACC Player of the Week and four Cavs were nominated for the 2010 Tewaaraton Award.

Now it is back to Klockner for the first time in a month and UVA will need some home cooking to stay undefeated, but probably not to stay number one as the Cavs take on the number five ranked Duke, a team that seems to have UVA's number, did you know that this year's Virginia seniors have lost only eleven games in four years, and that six of those games were to Duke?

Tonight's game is the 71st meeting between these teams and the Cavs enter the game with an eleven game home winning streak, something's gotta give.

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Hoos Your Lax aside: I downloaded then spent last night and part of today playing the Xbox 360 indie game Inside Lacrosse College Lacrosse 2010 and I must say I am impressed, the gameplay is basic and exciting and it hearkens back to a time when sports sims were about the feel and not the look. Suffice to say it is worth five bucks if you have an Xbox, Hoos Your Lax will post a full review next week.

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Oppo Research: Duke's franchise is senior attack Max Quinzani, his 45 goals leads the conference though his eight assists will not light anyone up he is approaching one hundred shots and his shots on goal percentage is over three in four, Max leads the attack in ground balls and turnovers caused, he does it all for Duke.

Senior attack Ned Crotty is the set up man, averaging nearly three assists per game which is good for second in the nation. Junior attack Zach Howell is the second leading scorer on the team and poised to take over after Max's run is done at the end of the season.

Duke's starting goalie is a freshman, Dan Wigrizer, he is averaging over nine goals against per game, an experienced and shooter heavy team like the Cavs will fuck with Dan's head.

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Trainer's Table: No significant injuries to report, junior midfielder Shamel Bratton is still on the mend from a hamstring pull, he is over the hump and we are just waiting for his game to catch up.

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Gameplan: The Cavs have not beaten the Blue Devils since 2004 when current freshman on the Virginia team were playing U13 ball, at this point there may be a bit of a pall over this game, maybe the players just think the Dukies have their number. The Hoos need to set all that aside and make their plays, they are the best team in the nation, just relax and let the game unfold.

In handling Carolina senior attack Billy Bitter last week, the Cavs may have struck on a model for handling Max Quinzani, just you watch, Duke will force the ball into Max and see what happens, man senior defenseman Ken Clausen up on Max and play him physical, say what you will about the Bray Malphrus aka Lucius Malfoy hit on Billy last week, it took him out of his game and without it Carolina struggled to keep up with the Hoos.

We need to see more out of the Bratton brothers, they were horrible last week, the Cavs may not be able to win two in a row with no contribution from the midfield.

In the faceoff game the Cavs should spread the wealth less and focus on senior Brian McDermott, he is averaging nearly seventy percent on faceoffs and was five of six last week, Garrett Ince and Ryan Benincasa were both under five hundred against Carolina.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: The knock on Virginia is always that they peak early and flag at the end of the season, last week's game tended to validate that, I will be looking for a crisp team that does not need to rely on bone jarring hits to win the game. That said I will take some bone jarring hits.

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Virginia Sports preview, media notes, UVA roster, Duke roster.

This is the last regular season home game for the Cavs, Klockner will be rocking, tickets are selling fast, it is the best seven dollars you could spend today in Charlottesville, I am bummed I cannot be there, I will be huddled in front of the TV with a whiskey and neighbors.

This is a gameday open thread.

UVA logo from here via here, Duke logo from here via here.

Two Cavs Nominated for 2010 Womens Tewaaraton Award

2010-04-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Dominant

Nominees for the 2010 Tewaaraton Award are out and two University of Virginia women made the list, senior midfielders Kaitlin Duff and Brittany Kalkstein.

Kaitlin is simply the best all around lacrosse player on the team and one of the best ever in a Cavaliers uniform, she leads the team in goals, points and shots, shots on goal, converting nearly three in four rips into shots on goal. She is second on the team in assists, third in draw controls and has committed the fewest turnovers among attacks or midfielders with ten or more starts, she has a comfortable team lead in ground balls and is tied for most turnovers caused. She also has a respectable 26 fouls, good for second on the team so do not fuck with Kaitlin because she is not afraid to mix it up with you.

Kaitlin deserves this award not just because she is having a stellar season for the number four ranked Cavaliers, she also deserves it because she has been a steady star her entire career, starting every game in a Virginia uniform and earning a boatload of honors and awards (op. cit.). She just became the second Cavaliers player ever to tally one hundred in five critical statistical areas, goals, points, ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers. She came into the UVA program hot and has kept her hot hand all four years. If the program does these sorts of things then Kaitlin is a lock for jersey retirement.

Brittany is a force in the midfield in her own right, starting all fifteen games and ranking at or right behind (op. cit.) Kaitlin in goals, assists, points, shots, shots on goal, ground balls and caused turnovers. The two of them together make up just a dominant midfield.

Brittany's distinction though, and Brittany's numbers as you will see in a moment are insane, is draw controls. The draw control, the ladies version of the faceoff, involves suspending the ball at waist height between two reversed sticks, then the ladies swing their sticks upward, launching the ball into the air where it may be taken, or controlled, by either draw opponent or their teammates.

Brittany leads the team in draw controls... by 47 over number two sophomore attack Josie Owen. Forty-seven! She has 79 draw controls for the 2010 and is the franchise as far as establishing possession, in the womens game as in the mens establishing possession is the way to win and whatever it is about Brittany's technique, it is working for her; Brittany owns the Virginia single season record for draw controls, the UVA career mark, the ACC career mark and is closing in on the NCAA career mark.

Like her teammate Kaitlin, Brittany has started every game since she arrived and has won a boatload of awards. If anything will propel Brittany to this award it will be her consistent performance in establishing initial possession for her team.

Both of these women are significant in the rich history of the UVA womens lacrosse team and would be deserving recipients of the 2010 Womens Tewaaraton Award, congratulations ladies!

The mens team also had some nominees for their award. Both awards will be handed out on Thursday 3 June 2010 at National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC.

Cavaliers senior midfielder Kaitlin Duff: Virginia Sports / Matt Riley from here.

Four Cavs Nominated for 2010 Mens Tewaaraton Award

2010-04-16T07:00:00.002-04:00

Glamour boy

The 2010 Tewaaraton Award nominees are out and four University of Virginia mens players are on that list, senior defenseman Ken Clausen, senior short stick midfielder Brian Carroll, junior short stick midfielder Shamel Bratton and sophomore attack Steele Stanwick.

Ken is top five nationally in turnovers caused, and eleven ahead of his nearest teammate, his lot in life is to draw the best opposing attacker and play him physically and he does it really well. He deserves this trophy because he is one of the best players at his position in the nation and he has been consistent his entire career at Virginia. He personifies the notion that the goalie is the backup plan (thanks coach Chilton).

Brian is a solid midfielder but lacks the gaudy numbers you would associate with the nation's best player. This season he has only nine starts of a possible eleven, goals, points and percentages are all unremarkable, he is third on the team with 24 points, fifteen fewer than Steele at number two and nineteen fewer than attack Chris Bocklet at number one. Brian's nomination is largely a tribute to his career standing at UVA, a lacrosse powerhouse since we started keeping records, Brian's 84 goals ranks him fourth all time among Virginia midfielders. Even Shamel and Rhamel Bratton are going to have a hard time catching that record.

Speaking of, Shamel has battled a hamstring injury this season, which has given us the benefit of twin brother Rhamel's best play, Shamel is a quantity over quality shooter, he has ripped 54 shots this season, third on the team, but has a 46.3% shot on goal percentage, eleven percentage points behind any other player on the team with fifty or more shots. Look over to the right on that stat line (op. cit.), Shamel only has six ground balls, woefully lacking among the franchise players, and a TEAM HIGH 21 turnovers, five of which were committed in the Saturday game against UNC. This is not Shamel's year.

Steele is the soul of the UVA offense, he trails Chris Bocklet by one point overall but look into those numbers (ibid.), twenty goals and nineteen assists, Steele makes it happen for others as often as for himself. Steele is incredibly efficient, his shot on goal percentage is over 73 percent, meaning that nearly three of four rips from Steele engage the goal, the goalie or hit the back of the net, he leads the team in shots on goal percentage among players with thirty shots or more. He deserves the award because the nation's best offense goes through him.

The man missing here is sophomore attack Chris Bocklet, I would have put him in here over Shamel and Brian, Chris leads the team in points, goals, shots, has a shots on goal percentage of nearly seventy percent, is tied for third among non goalies in ground balls and leads all attack and midfield players in turnovers caused, to put it in hockey terms, Chris plays the forecheck, the defense on offense. Chris deserves the award because he scores when he has the ball and finds it when he does not.

Other ACC players nominated for the award, for UNC junior attack Billy Bitter who six foot two 211 pound defenseman Bray Malphrus knocked the shit out of last Saturday and junior defenseman Ryan Flanagan, for Duke seniors attack Max Quinzani, attack Ned Crotty and defensemen Parker McKee and for UMD junior long stick midfielder Brian Farrell, oops, UM Terps has no story up on this, guess its not really a big deal for them.

The Tewaaraton award banquet will be held on Thursday 3 June 2010 at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, a museum on the National Mall that I bike to work past every morning. Hoos Your Lax is planning on being at this event though the 125 dollar ticket may be a limiting factor. We will be pursuing media credentials.

Virginia and Syracuse University are the only teams with four players nominated, overall 58 players were nominated so this is not really like the Heisman at all.

Steele Stanwick Saturday at the Big City Classic in New Giants Stadium: Virginia Sports / Matt Riley from here.

Adam Ghitelman Named ACC Mens Lacrosse Player of the Week

2010-04-15T20:30:00.001-04:00

That's him on the right, you know, keeping the ball out of the goal

On his strong performance Saturday against the UNC Tar Heels in the Big City Classic at New Giants Stadium, University of Virginia junior goalie Adam Ghitelman has been named ACC Mens Lacrosse Player of the Week.

The Tar Heels ripped 47 shots in that game, seventeen of them on goal, Adam made twelve saves while allowing five goals. Carolina entered that game averaging 11.6 goals per game, and 12.5 over the previous eight games. Five goals matches UNC's season low score.

Adam also keyed seventeen of eighteen defensive clears, that is over 94 percent, teams had been averaging just over 75 percent on clears against UNC leading into that game. This is Adam's second conference player of the week honor and the fourth honor for a UVA player this season.

Adam is now 33-4 in goal with the Cavaliers, he is a stellar goalie with an outstanding supporting cast. A great performance like this late in the season is good news, with one more conference game and two tournaments coming the Cavs need to keep it rolling.

Congratulations Adam!

Adam Ghitelman in action Saturday against UNC: Virginia Sports / Matt Riley from here.

Bitter Comma Headache

2010-04-12T14:30:00.012-04:00

Insane

From the X: Opening New Giants Stadium in style, a game befitting the rankings that got uglier as the game wore on; a circus shot by Steele Stanwick; winning without the Bratton brothers; Tar Heels do not have the franchise on defense. Still undefeated.

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Quick jump to

Walkthrough :: From Where I'm Sitting :: Laxerati :: Omnibus :: Spotlights :: Recaps and Stats

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Sunday Walkthrough: Welcome to New Giants Stadium in scenic New Jersey as the undefeated and number one ranked University of Virginia Cavaliers mens lacrosse team beats the previously undefeated and number two ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels 7-5 in the Big City Classic, for a brand new stadium with state of the art field turf, this game got down in the mud, there were lot of turnovers, bad shots and players getting knocked around. Carolina franchise Billy Bitter was knocked out of the game, Steele Stanwick scored a hat trick and both teams went fifteen minutes without scoring.

Brian McDermott in the faceoff to start the first quarter for UVA and the Hoos take the first faceoff, attack Chris Bocklet runs around and takes a bad hook shot from the X and turns it over, Carolina ball, good passing and Adam Ghitelman makes a great save over his head, Cavs ball, there is some fancy pants passing then a Bratton shot bounces off the turf, Carolina ball, Billy Bitter trips on the turf and Ken Clausen comes up with it, he frying pans across midfield, passes to Steele Stanwick who unloads over goalie Chris Madalon's left shoulder for a goal, UVA leads 1-0. Carolina takes the second faceoff and take the time to set up their offense, Billy Bitter comes from the X behind the goal, fires shot off the crossbar and UVA gets closest to the line out of bounds, Virginia ball. UVA sets up their offense, John Haldy lets a poor shot close, Colin Briggs is point blank and pushes the rebound in, UVA leads 2-0. Carolina takes the third faceoff, the Tar Heels force the ball to Billy Bitter for a weak shot and Adam Ghitelman saves it easily, UVA ball, Shamel Bratton takes a shot from twenty feet, Ian Braddish crosschecks Shamel, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty and UVA will go a man up for one minute. Virginia runs five corners and gets no real opportunities, Carolina ball at full strength, the Tar Heels commit a 20 second violation and turn the ball over to the Cavs, Brian Carroll loses a Shamel Bratton pass in the sun and turns it over, Heels ball, they turn it back over immediately to Virginia, John Haldy rips one from 35 feet over Chris Madalon's right shoulder and it is 3-0 UVA. Carolina wins the fourth faceoff but turns it right over on a loose ball pushoff, Virginia ball, the Cavs set up an offense, Colin Briggs sends a shot high, Cavs recover but get called for a ten second violation when the ball exits the attack zone, Carolina ball. The Heels struggle against the Virginia perimeter defense, wide shot, Heels recover, Billy Bitter draws a double team, passes the ball and the shot bounces off a defender, Carolina retains with less than a minute to go, Bitter takes yet another shot, high, a last gasp shot off the crossbar and that is where the quarter ends with Virginia leading 3-0.

Virginia wins the fifth faceoff to start the second quarter but turns it over immediately, Tar Heels ball, they waste a lot of time passing the ball, Adam Ghitelman saves the shot, Virginia makes a shot in transition and it is stopped, Carolina ball. A Tar Heel injury timeout stops momentum, play resumes with Virginia ball, Rhamel Bratton looses a shot, then another and the save by Madalon, there is some ground ball scrum with a penalty assessed on Carolina's Ryan Flanagan for a hit in the back, Virginia ball with a man up for 30 seconds, three passes and Steele Stanwick lets one from 15 yards bottom right and the Cavs take a 4-0 lead. Virginia wins the sixth faceoff, Steele Stanwick takes the first pass on offense and makes an incredible falling shot behind his head for the low goal and the hat trick, Cavs now lead 5-0. Carolina takes the seventh faceoff, Billy Bitter takes the first pass on offense and runs it right in for a bouncing shot and a Carolina goal, Cavs lead 5-1. Carolina wins the eighth faceoff and sets up an offense, the first shot goes over the goal, the second is saved by Adam Ghitelman who makes a poor pass and Carolina gets the ball back, Billy Bitter charges and shoots for a goal to the left, 5-2 Cavs, Billy gets smashed by Bray Malphrus, it is a two minute high hit penalty, Carolina goes man up. The Heels win the ninth faceoff but need to call a timeout, play resumes with Carolina ball, the ball gets loose, Chris Bocklet comes up with the ground ball and UVA gets a timeout, play resumes with Virginia ball and a man down for 1:18 still, Shamel Bratton turns it over, a man up with 50 seconds to go, Jimmy Dunster looses one from the right wing to the long side to right and it is 5-3 Cavs. Carolina wins the tenth faceoff and take their time with an offense, a high shot, a bouncing shot away, another high shot, another low bouncer, a short shot wide, Ghitelman comes out of the cage and almost pays, then another wide shot, finally Carolina comes in point blank and Adam saves it, Virginia ball. The Hoos set up an offense, Rhamel gets off a shot that is saved and it is Carolina ball. The Heels second shot of the possession goes over Adam's head, he comes out for possession, UVA loses that ball quickly, Carolina turns it over in traffic, UVA then takes a timeout with under a minute to go in the half. Out of the timeout Shamel gets too cute and falls and turns the ball over, Carolina manages to get three shots off in the final 22 seconds and that is where the half ends as the Cavaliers lead 5-3.

UVA wins the eleventh faceoff to start the third quarter, Chris Bocklet gets off a shot almost immediately, it is high, Shamel makes another poor shot and it is Carolina ball. UNC sets up an offense, the Heels finally make a shot and Adam Ghitelman saves it, Carolina short stick midfield Ian Braddish took the shot from Max Pomper and paid the price with a huge hit and heads to the sideline, Virginia ball, Shamel Bratton works the ball point blank to Steele Stanwick who rushes the shot and it is saved by Madalon, Carolina ball. UNC turns it over on an end line out, UVA ball, poor ball handling and it is Carolina ball, they make quick work and score, it is a four goal run and 5-4 UVA. Carolina wins the twelfth faceoff but turns it over immediately, in the Cavs next possession Steele Stanwick draws a penalty, a holding call and UVA will be up a man for the next thirty seconds, they make nothing of it, Steele gets out hustled to a loose ball but Carolina turns it right back over, Brian Carroll looses a heater that bounces off Madalon's facemask, Brian takes another shot that sails out of bounds, Shamel puts it back in play to Matt White who catches it point blank right of the goal and puts it in for UVA and the Cavaliers now lead 6-4. UNC wins another faceoff, the thirteenth, but turns it over on a long pass, UVA ball, double turnovers and Madalon makes a save, there is a scrum on Carolina possession and Billy Bitter is back in the game, he and Ken Clausen get in a two man game and Adam makes another great save, UVA ball, and that is the end of the third quarter with the Cavaliers leading 6-4.

Virginia takes the faceoff, the fourteenth overall, to start the fourth quarter but turns it right over, Adam Ghitelman stops a point blank shot, there is some furious back and forth with possessions by both teams, UNC gets the ball eventually, sets up an offense and the shot winds up right in Adam's stick, UVA ball, the Cavs look frustrated and tired, Brian Carroll finds Chris Bocklet behind the defense who nails a point blank shot and Virginia take a 7-4 lead. The coverage does not show us who won the fifteenth faceoff, but Carolina comes up with the ball, Billy Bitter draws a penalty, Carolina's Cam Wood take a shot but it is low and Adam Ghitelman saves it, the resulting penalty is a slash on Max Pomper, Carolina will be a man up for sixt seconds, a shot dies in traffic and the Cavs get a short stick possession, back to even strength, Virginia retains possession, Brian Carroll gets his own rebound off the pipe and an offsides penalty turns it over to Carolina, they finally get a point blank curl shot off but Adam is there to stop it, UVA ball and they call a timeout with just over four minutes in the game. Virginia restarts with the ball in the attack zone, Steele Stanwick curls from X with a point blank shot but it is deflected, Carolina gets the rebound and Michael Burns runs right down the field and scores for the Heels, UNC cuts the lead to 7-5. Carolina wins the sixteenth faceoff but turns it right over on a stick check, Cavs ball with just over three minutes left, Shamel puts the ball on the ground and turns it over, the Tar Heels get a weak shot and Cavs get the rebound, Carolina is playing nervously and with pressure at this point, less than two minutes in the game, Matt White gets a so so shot and Madalon saves it, Heels ball, they call timeout with a minute and a half left. Play resumes with Carolina and the ball in the attack zone, they get a shot immediately but it is high, Carolina retains possession, another wide shot, there is a scrum in front of the goal and Billy Bitter takes another huge hit, Virginia comes up with the ball with less than a minute left and clears, Carolina gets one last gasp possession but the clear pass is blocked, Cavs get the ball and wait out the final seven seconds, game over and the University of Virginia Cavaliers remain unbeaten and number one in the nation as they hang on to beat the University of North Carolina Tar Heels 7-5.

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From Where I'm Sitting: Much to like, much to be concerned about in this game. As Brian Leung, The UVA Fool from StreakingTheLawn.com tweeted to me after the game:

By the numbers, it really looked like it was Carolina's game to lose. They out-numbered us across the board.

And he is right. Shots were 47-35 Carolina. Turnovers were 17-14 UVA. After starting with a 5-0 scoring run, UNC pulled to 5-4 while forcing the Cavs into a fifteen minute scoreless drought from the second into third quarters. Virginia was dominated in the midfield.

But it is all about quality and UVA proved that the Tar Heels are not the only team that can play stifling defense. Despite being outshot by twelve, UVA actually had two more actual shots on goal than UNC, meaning Carolina was not getting good looks, the offensive efficiency was not there for the Heels, overall Carolina converted on eight percent of total shots while Virginia managed twenty percent on overall shots. Virginia hung on and kept playing their game, solid defense and outstanding goalkeeping covered for struggles and inconsistencies elsewhere.

The attack game was just ordinary, for a team that is averaging thirteen and a half goals per game, seven seems really low, the UNC defense lived up to its reputation as UVA became the tenth team this season held to seven or fewer goals. Steele Stanwick of course had his usual outstanding game. Chris Bocklet added a goal on attack though his major contribution was five ground balls on his half of the field, that is the lacrosse equivalent of the forecheck, playing defense on offense, it frustrates the other team when attackers come up with ground balls.

The midfield game was weak tea tonight, Shamel and Rhamel Bratton were not feeling it as they committed seven turnovers combined, found no ground balls managed only three shots on goal off ten shot opportunities. Brian Carroll made up what he could with two ground balls and four shots on goal in six shot opps.

Defensively the Cavs were magnificent, senior Ken Clausen held his mark with Billy Bitter, and senior Ryan Nizolek pitched in four ground balls, the Cavs real stock in trade is that ground ball game, if that ball hits the ground those guys are going to get that big stick in there and get it. The shooting lanes were clogged, the attackers had a hard time moving around and the midfielders had no open looks at a distance.

In goal junior Adam Ghitelman was outstanding once again, allowing five goals while making twelve saves on 21 shots on goal and if you figure Adam had to react to all 47 shots the Tar Heels took, his head was on a swivel, Adam was named ACC Mens Player of the Week for his efforts, more on that in the next post. Adam likes to come out of goal and get in the action from time to time, I hope that tendency does not result in an opponent's goal at just the wrong time in the postseason.

In the faceoff game Brian McDermott was the solid performer for UVA, winning five of his six chances. Ryan Benincasa was two for five and Garett Ince was one for five, UVA likes to mix up the faceoffs, Carolina's Michael Burns took all sixteen faceoffs for his team by contrast, and the Hoos finished at fifty percent, eight for sixteen. The second quarter was the worst, with UNC winning four of the six in that quarter.

Sure we all would have loved to see the Cavs go in there and kick the shit out of the Heels, put a little distance between one and two and show there really is a class for UVA and a class for everyone else. But we got the game we expected, it was a close, physical, hard fought game that featured some big plays and solid performances from the less glamorous positions. Cavs remain undefeated another week.

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Laxerati: Steve Russolillo at Lacrosse Magazine, a dead tree periodical we receive right here at Hoos Your Lax worldwide headquarters in Alexandria Virginia, writes that we had every reason to expect a shootout, of course what we got was a defensive battle, which frankly we actually kind of expected. Andy McCullough at the Newark Star-Ledger also pushes the coulda shoulda been a shootout meme, and has Steele Stanwick's postgame reaction to his circus shot, pictured above.

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Omnibus: Uniform watch: The Cavaliers come out in all orange, jerseys, shorts and pants.

Junior goalie Adam Ghitelman is 32-4 all time at UVA, he must be in consideration for All-America, if there is a knock on Adam it is the incredible talent around him, though faceoffs and ground balls UVA helps Adam by ensuring they control the ball as much as possible. Also, despite that record Adam has only a 53 percent save ratio, as a data point Carolina goalie Chris Madalon has a 58 percent save ratio and that is only good for tenth in the nation. This is the backward bending curve of top shelf competition, Adam and Chris face the best in the nation week in and week out and as such their statistics can appear to suffer.

UVA has won the last six meetings between these teams. Hm.

This weekend long event, the Big City Classic, is the first sporting event at this stadium. Pretty cool.

Billy Bitter is an amazing player, junior attack for UNC, Virgina defense Ken Clausen, one of the best defenders in the nation with 2.5 turnovers caused per game, third in the nation, will have his hands full.

Attack midfield Shamel Bratton is a lefty, his identical twin brother Rhamel is a righty, kind of cool how that happens, my two oldest sons are eight year old lacrosse playing identical twins, one is a lefty and one is a righty. Oh the orange and blue dreams I have of them...

Rules review: Once possession is gained in the defensive zone, the possessing team has 20 seconds to clear the ball, just like the ten second rule in basketball. Carolina got called for a violation in the first quarter.

Bitter indeed: The key to Virginia's second goal was Carolina attack Billy Bitter stumbling unassisted with the ball, ironically it was just as the announcers were talking about the softness and slowness of the turf and how it was not a shooters green.

Rules review: If a team has possession in the offensive zone, that is their zone of attack, the ball may be passed or sent out of the attack zone, when this happens, if the attacking team recovers the ball, it has ten seconds to get the ball back in the attack zone. Virginia got called for a ten second violation in the first quarter.

Fact check: In 2010 the ACC is 33-1 out of conference. Wow, remember there are only four teams that compete in ACC mens lacrosse.

Double You Tee Eff: In the second quarter off the sixth faceoff, Steele Stanwick took the first pass on offense on the left wing, as he was crossing in front of the goal he got tangled up in two defenders right point blank of the goal, as he was falling he let one go BEHIND HIS HEAD over his left shoulder for a goal. Replay showed Steele was clearly tackled and still scored. I have manlove for Steele.

Here as the second quarter comes to an end the Cavs seem unable to hang onto the ball, their stock in trade is possessing and claiming.

At the half UVA was 31 percent on shots, UNC was 10 percent, telling stat. It got worse for UNC from there.

Billy Bitter was not on the field to start the second half, guess that hit from Bray Malphus was pretty big.

The Bratton brothers not only do not look sharp in this game, they look frustrated and like they are trying to force the ball. They are committing turnover after turnover.

The playing surface seems to be a character in this drama, as the game wears on the play is really slowing down and players are falling down, Virginia's seventh goal, fourth quarter, played out with a bunch of guys on offense and defense just standing around like they were winded, at least below the waist.

I got behind about 30 minutes in the coverage with the pausing and rewinding to see plays, the game started a few minutes late and ran long, my DVR cut off right after Virginia's seventh goal, fourth quarter, I checked ESPN U's schedule and they reran the game at three in the morning, so I set the DVR and went to bed, between then and now (1pm Sunday, the next day), I have been on a total information blackout, no email, no Facebook, no nothing, so I have no idea what happened in the game. An unfortunate side effect of the game replay is they are editing it for time so there are some key plays being left out, like the fifteenth faceoff.

Carolina ended the game 4 for 47 shooting, that is 8.5 percent. Tough to get it done against the number one scoring offense in the nation.

Billy Bitter is a great player, though the Heels seem not to be deep on attack, they forced him the ball continually and he paid for it with his body.

Make that seven in a row by UVA men over UNC.

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Like Steele Down There: Second year attack Steele Stanwick carried the team on offense, three goals and an assist, four total points, including the insane falling down circus shot over his left shoulder to move the Cavs to 5-0 in the second quarter. One miscue, by Steele though, in the third quarter Shamel Bratton found Steele at point blank, Steele tried to go low with it and goalie Chris Madalon saw it coming, a slight hesitation there and it would have been an easy goal. Steele is our franchise.

Brothers: Identical twin brother midfielder juniors Shamel and Rhamel Bratton were not only not serious factors in this game, they, particularly Shamel, actively undermined the team today, Shamel committed five turnovers, Rhamel two and both took poor shots. Shamel got a point on an assist but there was no scoring by the Brattons as they managed only three qualified shots on goal in ten shot opportunities. Bad day at the office for the Brothers.

Hippies Don't Play Sports: Senior defender Ken Clausen was outstanding today, two ground balls and a lot of hustle, he was isolated on Carolina star attack Billy Bitter, and did a great job of keeping Billy at bay, there was a particular sequence at the end of the third quarter in which Billy tried to curl from X to the left wing, Ken shadowed him with the shorter angle and stick checked Billy into a pass, the receiver took a shot but Adam Ghitelman made an easy save. Forcing the opponent into poor quality opportunities is as important as forcing the opponent into outright mistakes.

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Virginia Sports recap, box score, photo gallery, video highlights. Tar Heel Blue recap, play by play, photo gallery.

Other recaps: Inside Lacrosse live game blog, LaxPower recap and box,

Next up, Max Quinzani, his 45 goals and the giants of Duke University in the final Klockner Stadium home game before the ACC Tournament, number six ranked Duke is 9-3 and on an eight game win streak, though of their last four opponents only Brown and Harvard are ranked, while Duke was playing Jacksonville and Presbyterian UVA was sawing through Maryland and Carolina.

Steele Stanwick with the circus shot over his shoulder in the second quarter: Noah K. Murray / Newark Star-Ledger from here. Max Quinzani: uncredited image from here.

A Somewhat Rare Opportunity

2010-04-10T14:00:00.006-04:00

...of which I am taking full advantage

Hoos Your Lax lives, at least today. As you can guess from the title of this mini post, it is rare that I get to do all three of the following during lacrosse season:

1. Find the game I want on TV,

2. Get to watch that game in its entirety uninterrupted, and

3. With a computer in front of me.

That is what is happening today as the number one ranked and undefeated university of Virginia Cavaliers mens lacrosse team takes on the number two and undefeated University of North Carolina Tar Heels, this game is the college opener though arguably the main event of the Big City Classic at New Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

The other game is tonight at 6:3opm ET, number three Syracuse versus number four Princeton, both top ten teams, this game of course has more regional appeal to the lacrosse nuts northeast.

No, the UVA-UNC game is a clash of titans, one of the best college lacrosse matchups of the season, Virginia leads the NCAA in scoring margin at +6.5 goals per game, while Carolina leads the NCAA in scoring defense with a 6.3 goals against average. Something's got to give.

Attacks Steele Stanwick and Chris Bocklet, attack midfielders Shamel and Rhamel Bratton, defense Ken Clausen and our sure All-America goalie Adam Ghitelman, versus Billy Bitter and the Tar Heels, enjoy the game, 4:00pm ET on ESPNU, look for the Hoos Your Lax's gamewrap this evening.

Wahoowa!

University of Virginia lacrosse desktop wallpaper from here via here.

More Honors for Virginia Women

2009-06-24T16:00:00.000-04:00

Top performers

A bunch of honors were handed out to University of Virginia women's lacrosse players by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) last month, reflecting the depth of talent on the 2009 team:

Senior Midfielder Blair Weymouth: All-America second team, All-South Region first team, All-ACC. Blair is only the second Virginia player ever to receive All-America honors all four years, and this is also her fourth All-Region honor. Blair leaves UVA as a top ten in goals scored, assists and points. Kaitlin's teammates voted her team MVP for the 2009 season. Congratulations to Blair on a stellar career at UVA, she will be missed.

Junior Midfielder Kaitlin Duff: All-America second team, All-South Region first team. This is Kaitlin's first All-America honor and second All-Region honor. A mean stick, Kaitlin led UVA and the ACC in caused turnovers and is currently fifth in all time caused turnovers at Virginia. With a year to go she will rise in this ranking.

Senior Midfielder Ashley McCullough: All-America third team, All-South Region second team, All-ACC. Ashley finishes her UVA career as only the fourth player to register 100 career assists, and is only the fourth player to achieve the 100 goals and 100 assists plateau. Ashley is a top ten all time leader in assists and points, and holds three of the top ten single season assist marks from her four years at Virginia. Congratulations go to Ashley as well on a stellar career at Virginia, she will be missed.

Junior Midfielder Brittany Kalkstein: All-America third team, All-South Region second team. Brittany led Virginia and the ACC in draw controls, the women's version of a faceoff, and was sixth nationally, it is difficult to overestimate how important winning the draw is, good teams most often score off a draw, Brittany's success in the draw regualrly puts the Cavaliers in better position to score. Brittany is certain to break the career Virginia record next year, she won 73 this year and is only six shy of the top spot.

Senior Attacker Jenny Houser: All-South Region second team. A transfer from Boston University, Jenny was a two time All-American there and in her first and only year at UVA was second on the team in goals and third in total points. Better to have had Jenny for one season than not at all, congratulations to her on an excellent final season.

Sophomore Defender Liz Downs: All-South Region second team. Liz has started every game in both of her two years at UVA, opposing attackers cannot stand playing against Liz, she is a top defender who will force you to drop the ball and then scoop it up. We get her for two more seasons of neutralizing opponents' top scorers.

Congratulations to all these women, these awards prove UVA is consistently recruiting among the most talented women lacrosse players in the country. I wish the 2010 season would hurry up and get here.

Blair Weymouth: VirginiaSports.com from here.

See You in Baltimore

2009-06-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

Awesome for me

I just discovered quite by accident that the NCAA 2010 men's lacrosse tournament will be in Baltimore. That is good for me, the worldwide headquarters of Hoos Your Lax are in Alexandria Virginia. Hopefully UVA will be there. Again.

Detail of NCAA 2010 men's lacrosse tournament banner ad by me.

Recruiting Spotlight: Kelly Austin

2009-06-11T21:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome aboard

Some University of Virginia women's lacrosse recruiting news, as Washington area high school lacrosse seasons come to a close the Washington Post has been covering the championships and spotlighting the area's best players. I came across the piece above in today's Washington Post Fairfax Extra section, today the Post published their All-Met lists for best players in the Washington regions and top of the list for the girl's lacrosse: Saint Stephens / Saint Agnes attack Kelly Austin. This fall Kelly will be playing for UVA.

To give you some idea of the type of player UVA is getting with Kelly, the girl's lacrosse team at Saint Stephens / Saint Agnes, an independent Episcopal K-12 private school located right here in Alexandria, also home to worldwide headquarters of Hoos Your Lax, just wrapped up their 15th straight Independent Schools League title and their third straight Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division Three title.

So Saint Stephens / Saint Agnes girl's lacrosse team is pretty good right? Yes they are and Kelly was their best player. Kelly set the single season school record for goals in 2009 with 120, 120! as well as the school record for career goals with 232. Looking at her assists number for this year, seventeen, and comparing it to her goals scored Kelly looks like a shooter.

After their latest championship last month Kelly was asked for her first autograph. Get used to it Kelly. I look forward to watching Kelly rip it up for the Cavaliers the next four years.

Wahoowa!

Kelly Austin highlight from today's Washington Post Fairfax Extra edition, scan by me.

Cherie Greer Inducted into Lacrosse Hall of Fame

2009-06-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Dominant

Former University of Virginia defensewoman Cherie Greer has been chosen for induction into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame's 2009 class. Cherie played at UVA from 1991 to 1994, meaning we would have been at the same school for a year though I can comfortably tell you there is zero chance she and I would ever have crossed paths.

With Cherie on defense the Virginia women won two national championships, in 1991 and 1993, and was national defensive player of the year in 1994. Her jersey has been retired by the University.

Cherie was also a part of four consecutive women's World Cup teams, 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005, a span in which the US won three world championships. She was the most valuable player of the 1997 and 2001 tournaments. Lacrosse Magazine named Cherie to the all-century team. Cherie was and I presume continues to be a truly dominant lacrosse player.

Congratulations Cherie!

Cherie Greer: Kevin Tucker from here.

Three Cavaliers Selected in 2009 MLL Draft

2009-06-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Staying local

Three University of Virginia Cavaliers were selected in the 2009 Major League Lacrosse draft last week, attack Danny Glading, longstick midfielder Mike Timms and attack Garrett Billings, congratulations to these players for moving to the next level.

These three players leave UVA as part of the winningest senior class in school history, with 53 wins, a national championship in 2006, two other national tournament semifinal appearances in 2007 and 2009 and one ACC tournament championship in 2006.

Danny was selected fifth overall by the (well my) hometown Washington Bayhawks, if you consider Annapolis local to Alexandria. For the 2009 season, Danny was an All-America, All-ACC, led all UVA players in points and led the team with 31 assists. Danny was one of only two college players nationwide to register 30 points and 30 assists in 2009, the other being Syracuse's Kenny Nims, selected four spots ahead of Danny at the number one overall. Danny joins former Cavaliers brother Billy Glading, Kyle Dixon and Ken Rubeor in Annapolis.

Mike, a lacrosse giant at six feet five inches 229 pounds, was selected in the third round, 25th overall by the Toronto Nationals who I am positive are more fun to watch than the Washington Nationals. Mike was the 2009 Cavaliers' Most Valuable Player whose specialty was shadowing the opponent's top attacking midfielder causing havoc and 31 turnovers.

Garrett, a Canadian which I did not know until now, was also selected by the Nationals in the fourth round, 32nd overall. Garrett was the Cavaliers' leading goal scorer with 38 goals and had six games of three or more playing on a productive front line with fellow senior Danny Glading and freshman Steele Stanwick.

Congratulations to these Cavaliers, I hope I can find a way to take in some MLL games before this season is over in August, I will find out what I can about broadcast schedules and post it here.

Senior Danny Glading getting off a shot against Cornell in his last game at the NCAA semifinal: uncredited image (possibly Dick Blume) from the Syracuse Post-Standard here.

What Did We Learn?

2009-06-05T17:00:00.006-04:00

The future is bright, that is one thing

8 June 2009 edit by Ben: could not find a photo gallery of the game at Virginia Sports or any of the other usual places, I managed to find one at the Syracuse Post-Standard here.

After dismantling Villanova 18-6 in the first round of the 2009 NCAA men's lacrosse tournament then routing Johns Hopkins 19-8 in the second round, a game I attended in Annapolis Maryland, the University of Virginia Cavaliers faced the Cornell Big Red in the national semifinal.

And got clobbered, 15-6 at Foxboro stadium. The difference between the Johns Hopkins and Cornell games was incredible. Against the Blue Jays the Cavaliers were all hustle, getting up the field and into scoring position before the defense could set up, Virginia strikes fast and likes to score in transition. The Johns Hopkins defense seemed to concede real estate right in front of the goal as Danny Glading and Steele Stanwick each had two goals and Shamel and Rhamel Bratton combined for seven from the attacking midfield.

Well the Big Red learned from watching that game. Cornell slowed that pace, played four corners on offense and drained the clock. On defense Cornell choked the middle of the defense and made Virginia work hard to get into scoring position. The result was clearly frustrating to Virginia as we saw coach Dom Starsia stomping on the sidelines, yelling at his players in huddles and Virginia wound up committing five minutes worth of penalties, I am pretty sure Cornell scored at least once on each man advantage. We learned Cornell is a pretty damn good team that makes damn few mistakes.

We learned that as out of his mind goalie as Adam Ghitelman played against Johns Hopkins, 14 saves and five goals, he came back down to earth against Cornell with nearly the opposite line, five saves and 15 goals.

We learned that Shamel and Rhamel need room to operate.

Looking forward to bringing you more offseason coverage of Virginia men's and women's lacrosse. Feel free to drop a comment or shoot me a note at hoosyourlax@gmail.com or tweet me @hoosyourlax.

Rising sophomore Steele Stanwick trying to get a shot off against Cornell: Getty Images from here.