The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- June 7, 1999

Virginia shakes off the past to win lacrosse championship

BY MARTY BENSON
STAFF WRITER

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland -- Virginia's men's lacrosse team was starting to get the worst sense of déja vú before completing its 12-10 championship victory over Syracuse.

After building a 9-3 lead in two and a half quarters on Memorial Day at the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium, the walls were threatening to come tumbling down for a team that had lost its last three championship appearances in overtime.

Syracuse, the only No. 8 seed to have advanced as far as the semifinals in the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, had suddenly solved the defensive puzzle that had plagued its offense all day.

But when the Orangemen's Josh Coffman found the net off an assist from Matt Caione with 1:12 left in the third quarter, that fact was not yet apparent to even those wearing Syracuse's shade of orange in this battle of mirror colors -- especially when Virginia's Hanley Holcomb answered with his game-high third goal, assisted by Tucker Radebaugh, to restore the Cavaliers' lead to six, 10-4, with 13:28 left in the game.

Then things got sticky in a hurry. Syracuse pounced with five unanswered goals to climb back to 10-9 with 6:30 left after Tim Byrnes' second goal.

Virginia coach Dom Starsia was admittedly worried.

"I was concerned," he said with a nod and a chuckle of relief during the postgame press conference. "Frankly, as a coach who has been doing this for a long time, I had good reason to be worried. In the second half, there was some sense that we were just hanging on, but that's human nature."

This time, the worries were for naught. May 31 was the Cavaliers' time to walk away with its second national championship trophy and first since any of their current players were born -- 1972.

One of their youngest, rookie attackman Conor Gill, pointed the way. The freshman, who had been held without a goal since exploding for five goals in the first quarter of the Cavaliers' May 29 semifinal win over Johns Hopkins, took a cue from Syracuse and answered his own wake-up call, scoring the winning goal with 2:29 left in the game.

"With three or four minutes left, we knew we couldn't just run around with a one-goal lead," Gill said. "I didn't even see my shot go in. I fell on my face when I shot it."

Teammate Henry Oakey added the frosting with his second goal, giving Virginia a 12-9 lead before Syracuse closed with a johnny-come-lately from Matt Cutia with 48 seconds left.

Syracuse coach John Desko, in his first year as head coach after serving as longtime assistant under legendary Roy Simmons Jr., said that defensively, his team did what he wanted early, but the offense was tardy.

"We wanted to stop them from getting off to a fast start like they did on Saturday, and we did that, but we were not able to capitalize on it," he said. "It was a little too much to ask for us to come back the way we had to."

Much of that was due to Virginia.

"Their defense did a terrific job," said Desko, who continued Syracuse's record run of 17 straight semifinal appearances. "It seemed like every shot we took was hitting one of their sticks or one of their players. We didn't get many quality shots."

For all its early offensive frustration, Syracuse drew first blood with 13:43 left in the first quarter, but that only served to get all-tournament freshman Virginia goalie Derek Kenney, who finished with 12 saves, into his comfort zone.

"The first goal in a game (against me) kind of settles me down," he said. "For most goalkeepers, it's that first save, but for me the first goal is kind of a kick in the pants."

Joining Gill and Kenney on the all-tournament team were teammates Ryan Curtis, Jay Jalbert, Court Weisleder and Radebaugh. Syracuse's Marshall Abrams and Ryan Powell also were honored, as were Johns Hopkins' Dan Denihan and Georgetown's Scott Urick.

Reflecting on his team's first championship after some frustrating near misses, Starsia said two things made this title special. One was playing Syracuse, not because of any vendetta, but because of his respect for the storied program.

"I have great respect for what Roy Simmons (Jr.) and John Desko have done for lacrosse," he said.

The other special thing of which Starsia spoke was that Virginia got its title in a season it dedicated to Doyle Smith, associate director of sports information for the Cavaliers and member of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Smith retired from the game after 31 years of service. Mixed among the postgame chants of "U-V-A, U-V-A" were those of "Doyle, Doyle, Doyle," a remarkable tribute to a behind-the-scenes lacrosse icon.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

Quarterfinals

Syracuse 17, Loyola (Md.) 12; Georgetown 17, Duke 14; Virginia 17, Delaware 10; Johns Hopkins 11, Hofstra 7.

Semifinals

Syracuse -- 2 -- 3 -- 6 -- 2 -- 13

Georgetown -- 4 -- 1 -- 0 -- 4 -- 9

Syracuse scoring -- Matt Cutia 2, Jeff Lowe 2, Tim Byrnes 2, Chris Cordisco 2, Ryan Powell 1, Sam Bassett 1, Matt Caione 1, Matt Alexander 1, Brian Soliday 1.

Georgetown scoring -- Scott Urick 3, Andy Flick 2, Greg Haubschmann 1, Mike Henehan 1, Mike Kanach 1, Greg McCavera 1.

Shots: Syracuse 43, Georgetown 46. Saves: Syracuse -- Rob Mulligan 16; Georgetown -- Brian Hole 11. Attendance: 27,586.

Virginia -- 9 -- 2 -- 2 -- 3 -- 16

Johns Hopkins -- 3 -- 3 -- 2 -- 3 -- 11

Virginia scoring -- Conor Gill 5, Jay Jalbert 3, Tucker Radebaugh 2, Hanley Holcomb 1, David Baruch 1, Michael Leahy 1, Aaron Vercollone 1, David Bruce 1, Jamie Leachman 1.

Johns Hopkins scoring -- Dan Denihan 5, A. J. Haugen 2, Matt O'Kelly 1, Dave Rabuano, Dylan Schlott 1, Justin Shaberly 1.

Shots: Virginia 37, Johns Hopkins 45. Saves: Virginia -- Derek Kenney 15, Ben O'Neil 0; Johns Hopkins -- Brian Carcaterra 11. Paid Attendance: 27,586.

Championship

Syracuse -- 2 -- 1 -- 1 -- 6 -- 10

Virginia -- 5 -- 3 -- 1 -- 3 -- 12

Syracuse scoring -- Ryan Powell 2, Matt Cutia 2, Tim Byrnes 2, Brian Solliday 1, Liam Banks 1, Josh Coffman 1, Jeff Cordisco 1.

Virginia scoring -- Hanley Holcomb 3, Drew McKnight 2, Michael Leahy 2, Henry Oakey 2, Jay Jalbert 1, Tucker Radebaugh 1, Conor Gill 1.

Shots: Syracuse 46, Virginia 33. Saves: Syracuse -- Rob Mulligan 11, Bob Rust 0; Virginia -- Derek Kenney 12. Attendance: 24,135.