RATCLIFFE ON: For Cavs, the best is yet to come

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Published: April 27, 2008

The old coaches will tell you that it’s wise to bring a team along so that it is peaking at the most important time of the season: playoff time.
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. Such a matchup could come at the NCAA championship game in Foxboro, Mass. in late May.
Down 11-3 with less than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter Sunday, the situation looked bleak for the Cavaliers.
They had been bombarded by the Blue Devils in the prior meeting a couple of weeks ago also on UVa’s home turf.
In that one, the two teams had been deadlocked at 9-all before Duke reeled off 10 unanswered goals.
Not this time around
Perhaps that mugging was stuck in the Cavaliers’ heads going into the rematch. This time, UVa was supposed to get into Duke’s collective heads, but it’s difficult to block out a 19-9 thumping in front of the largest crowd to ever see a game in your own stadium.
Trailing 11-4 going into the final quarter, Virginia coach Dom Starsia had seen enough. He demanded more from his team.
At the end of the third quarter, Starsia delivered a stirring message to his Cavaliers.
“We’re not going home like this,” the fiery UVa coach said. “It’s not going to end this way.”
Senior Ben Rubeor was so animated in the huddle that Starsia had to actually grab him.
The team responded with five consecutive, unanswered goals in the final quarter in the 11-9 loss. As one old quarterback once said, “We didn’t lose, we just ran out of time.”
On the bright side
Whether that’s a valid statement or not, Virginia can head into the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks realizing that it lost to the nation’s best team by two goals, that it won the second half 6-4, and hope that perhaps the third time’s the charm.
Duke, No. 2 nationally going into the game, is expected to be the top seed in the NCAA Tournament because of strength of schedule. Virginia figures to be no lower than No. 3, which at least gives promise for a third meeting.
If nothing else, the ACC Tournament was a good exercise for a Virginia team that is still coming together, but alas at the right time. With little exception, playing Maryland and Duke within 48 hours is the most physically demanding challenge that the Cavaliers could have asked for, much tougher in that respect than anything they’re likely to face in the NCAAs.
In addition, it’s good experience.
Observers of the game can see Virginia improving. The Cavs have made steady progress the last few weeks with faceoffs and other facets of the game.
“We haven’t been as tough a team as I would like this season, but in the last two weeks we’ve gotten a little tougher,” Starsia said of his 12-3 squad. “We’ve been winning the ground ball battles and I think we’re going to be a better defensive team.”
Games against Dartmouth, Maryland and Duke bore that out. Virginia held the Blue Devils down fairly successively the second half and had it not been for spectacular goal play by Duke’s Dan Loftus
(17 saves, tournament MVP), the game might never have gotten away from UVa.
The Cavs showed more of that toughness against Maryland in the semifinals.
“Maryland, in every sport, they come down here and are thinking, ‘we’re a tougher team than those Wahoos,’” Starsia said.
He was determined for that not to happen this time and it didn’t. Maryland had manhandled UVa during the regular season, but the Cavs responded physically and moved on to the championship game.
“I think we’ll get a little healthier in the attack, so things are improving,” Starsia said.
“I think our best lacrosse is still out there.”
And, one of the Cavalier leaders is hoping for yet another shot at the Dookies.
Fifth year goalie Bud Petit said Virginia learned Sunday that it doesn’t have to play a perfect game in order to beat Duke.
“Everything starts in practice on Monday,” said Petit, who made 12 of his 18 saves in the second half. “Everyone in this locker room knows we can beat those guys. We might be the only guys in the country who believe that we can do it.”
Maybe that’s true, but the old coaches would have to like Virginia’s odds should the two meet for all the marbles.