In the aftermath of his team’s double-overtime loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Virginia coach Dom Starsia became a tad emotional when asked about two of his seniors, Ben Rubeor and Bud Petit.

Virginia senior Ben Rubeor is arguably one of the top two or three players in the country. So you can imagine how he felt back on March 1 when he wasn’t able to play like it.

The first start of Garett Ince’s career came against Duke in front of 8,000 fans at Klockner Stadium on April 12. “I was pretty nervous,” recalled Ince, Virginia’s freshman faceoff specialist, “but it’s one of those things where you have to get your feet wet.”

When Saturday’s quarterfinals game of the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament crept into overtime, only one team was smiling.

Beware of Ben Rubeor, Virginia’s star goal producer on a Cavalier lacrosse team headed back to the Final Four.

There’s a note that’s been sitting on Dom Starsia’s desk for almost two years, one of his keepsakes from the 2006 national lacrosse championship that Virginia won under his direction.

When sixth-ranked UMBC, billed as the hottest lacrosse team in the nation with 11 straight wins, came to rain-soaked Klockner Stadium on Sunday, needless to say Virginia was ready.

Virginia, behind four goals from Danny Glading and three goals from Garrett Billings, overcame a
two-goal second-half deficit to beat UMBC, 10-9, in front of a crowd of 937.

Virginia’s loss to Delaware in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament shocked just about everyone in the lacrosse world.
The smart money says there won’t be another upset tonight when second-seeded UVa hosts Maryland-Baltimore County.

Duke, behind three goals from Matt Danowski and stellar play in goal from tournament MVP Dan Loftus, held off a late rally and downed UVa, 11-9, in front of a crowd of 3,758.

While Virginia lost to Duke for the fifth straight time on Sunday in the ACC men’s lacrosse championship game, the runner-up Cavaliers may have gained a jolt of confidence should they meet for a third time this season.

One nightmarish memory erased. One more to go. On Friday night at Klockner Stadium, Virginia — behind four goals apiece from Ben Rubeor and Garrett Billings — atoned for a dreadful loss to Maryland earlier this season with an 11-8 victory over the Terrapins.

Virginia’s players claimed they blocked any thoughts about Duke from their minds all week leading up to this weekend’s ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. First, the Cavaliers had to deal with Maryland, a team that had beaten them soundly a month ago at College Park.

The fourth-ranked Cavaliers, behind four goals from senior Ben Rubeor, closed out their regular season with an 11-7 win over Dartmouth in front of a crowd of 2,157.