McCulloch takes charge for Cavaliers

By Bart Isley

Published: April 16, 2008

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.
As a junior, it’s clear that McCulloch is now in charge.
“I think Jess did such a nice job that Ashley was kind of overshadowed by that,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers. “This is her year to shine.”
The midfielder recently vaulted herself into the discussion for National Player of the Year honors after a five-goal, one-assist performance in the Cavs’ Sunday win over Johns Hopkins, but finishing off goals isn’t where she usually shines for the Cavaliers. McCulloch is a distributor first, as she plays the women’s lacrosse equivalent of a point guard. It’s a role that fits McCulloch, who played the point in basketball during high school, well.
“I’m used to that role of dishing out assists and setting up the offense,” McCulloch said. “I think it suits me well.”
The spot requires a coach’s understanding of the game, and that’s not a problem for McCulloch. She’s been around some form of lacrosse for much of her life. Her father was a lacrosse coach, and both of McCulloch’s brothers, Billy and Brian, played lacrosse for Lynchburg College.
“She knows the game probably better than anyone out here,” said fellow junior Blair Weymouth. “She always finds the open person or takes it when she needs to take. She’s just a really smart player and really effective.”
McCulloch’s high lacrosse IQ was evident early in her high school career. Myers saw McCulloch as a freshman at W.T. Woodson High School in Annandale, where she led the Cavaliers to three state titles.
“In high school we saw her play as a ninth-grader and she took over the field,” Myers said. “And we were like, ‘Alright, this kid’s going to be really good.’”
The junior’s development at Virginia has been a steady process. As a freshman McCulloch showed promise with a hat trick against Boston College, but in a loaded program, she had to wait for her turn in the spotlight. While she did she developed a strong relationship with assistant coach Colleen Shearer, who coordinates the Cavaliers’ offense.
“She knows what she wants and if I don’t do that she lets me know,” McCulloch said. “It’s a learning process, but we’re definitely on the same wavelength a lot of times.”
As a sophomore she finished third for the Cavaliers in scoring and finished the year strong by being named to both the ACC and NCAA All-Tournament teams.
McCulloch’s late season emergence set that stage for this year’s fireworks. The junior leads the ACC in assists per game and is ranked 17th nationally in the same category. She’s also leading the Cavs in scoring with 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists).
“Being a year older and knowing the offense and what [Shearer] wants helps,” McCulloch said. “I’ve played with [Weymouth] now for a while now, and that helps too.”
Right now McCulloch and the Cavaliers are trying to build momentum going into next weekend’s ACC tournament in Charlottesville. After a difficult road loss to Georgetown last Wednesday, Virginia took out its frustration against Hopkins on Sunday afternoon in a 17-6 win. They’ll try and keep those positive vibes going at home against George Mason tonight at 7 p.m. in the squad’s regular season finale.
“Last year we had a late season loss, too [to Hopkins], and we just learned from it,” McCulloch said. “This is the postseason coming up so we’ve got to get everything together. From Hopkins and Mason, hopefully, we’ll have some momentum going into the playoffs.”
After the Hopkins loss last year, Virginia reeled off eight straight victories before falling to Northwestern in the national title game. If McCulloch and the Cavaliers can keep building late-season momentum against Mason, there’s a chance the Cavaliers could put together a repeat performance.