Ben Rubeor is a professional lacrosse player now, but he’s still thinking about the shot he took against Syracuse two weeks ago in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.

Virginia’s end of the field looked like a battle scene from the movie “Braveheart.” Bodies were strewn across the grass playing surface. Goalie Bud Petit lay crumpled and motionless.

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.”

Syracuse University will take heavy hearts into its NCAA Division I national championship semi-final lacrosse game against Virginia on Saturday as the Orange deal with a sudden tragedy.

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

Dom Starsia has always believed in building his offense with outstanding attackmen, and that’s what he’s counting on in today’s NCAA quarterfinals men’s lacrosse match against Maryland.

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.

Freshman Corey Donohoe did just that Sunday afternoon while pouring in five goals and, in the process, brought No. 4 Virginia’s season to a screeching halt with an 11-7 upset in the NCAA tournament’s first round.

It’s been a busy two weeks for the Virginia women’s lacrosse team, and the Cavaliers haven’t even played a game since their ACC tournament final victory over Maryland on April 27.

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.

Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team knew it would be in the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers just didn’t know they’d be facing off against familiar ACC foe North Carolina. 

The stress proved worth the headache as Virginia won its third straight ACC Tournament title with a 10-9 victory over Maryland Sunday at Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers stormed back from a five-goal deficit — a near-carbon copy of the Cavaliers’ comeback victory over Duke in Friday’s semifinal.

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.

For the last couple of seasons, the Virginia men’s lacrosse team’s hallmark has been its run-and-gun, up-tempo offense. This afternoon, in the ACC Tournament finals at Klockner Stadium, UVa will be facing top-seeded Duke - a team that employs the same kind of style and is probably a little better at it.

Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team has three losses in 2008, and they’re only guaranteed a chance to redeem one of those defeats.

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.

Duke won the draw, Duke held possession and Duke poured it on against Virginia Saturday in the ACC tournament semifinals at Scott Stadium — during the first half.

It’s been a while since a Virginia men’s lacrosse team headed into the ACC Tournament as an underdog.

Virginia had to wait until Thursday’s quarterfinals to find out, but the Cavs will take on Duke in the ACC semifinals today at 3 p.m at Scott Stadium.

“That was always the stereotype, put the bigger kid in goal and I was never the bigger kid,” said Virginia’s Kendall McBrearty. “I’ve always been pretty athletic and I haven’t ever really been able to stay put.”

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.

According to Virginia senior Ben Rubeor, there has been a noticeable difference in practice this week.

The No. 5 Cavs dismantled a second-straight Top 20 opponent Wednesday night in a 16-3 win over No. 12 George Mason in UVa’s regular season finale. The Cavaliers played 42 minutes of shutout lacrosse from the opening draw until almost midway through the second half, when the Patriots finally broke through with just 18 minutes to play.

As a sophomore, Ashley McCulloch finished third among Virginia players in points and set a season record for assists by a Cavalier. But with Jess Wasilewski running the show, it was apparent that the Cavalier offense wasn’t yet McCulloch’s to lead.

Virginia torched Johns Hopkins early and buried six of its first eight shots en route to a 17-6 victory over the Blue Jays.

Playing in front of a record crowd of 8,000 at Klockner Stadium on Saturday night, Virginia was hammered by No. 2 Duke, 19-9. It was UVa’s worst home loss in the 15-year history of the facility.

When Bud Petit returned to the Virginia lacrosse team this spring as a fifth-year senior, he had one goal - to accomplish something he hadn’t been able to do in his preceding four years on grounds.
Petit wanted more than anything to be UVa’s starting goalie.