Rubeor brings UVa back from the dead

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Published: May 17, 2008

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

Don’t let his shaggy-haired, preppy looks or his academic demeanor fool you. Instead, it just disguises the fire in his belly that surfaces during athletic competition.

And how.

Coach Dom Starsia can testify to Rubeor’s fiery athletic personality, a trait that has popped up ever since he walked into the program four years ago. The Wahoo senior almost willed his team past Maryland in Saturday’s quarterfinals match. A couple of his goals didn’t hurt either.

“He is one of those guys that leads on the field and in the classroom and in every which way,” Starsia said of Rubeor after the 8-7 overtime nail-biter, in which the veteran attackman scored three goals, including the tying and winning shots. “There was a big hole there in the beginning of the year with him hurt. We were able to win some games, but you could feel his absence.

“Especially as Ben has gotten stronger late in the season, we have looked toward him,” Starsia emphasized. “I think everybody looks over their should at Ben when times are tough. He is the definition of a clutch player and I think that’s the nicest thing you can say about a player.”

Rubeor, a candidate for the Tewaaraton Trophy (college lacrosse’s equivalent to the Heisman), is like a rolling ball of butcher knives in the face of tough defenses. That’s why when he turned the ball over early in the sudden death extra period against the Terps, he couldn’t wait to make amends. He did just that with 31 seconds to play in the first overtime to send Maryland packing.

He thrives on situations like that. He wanted to be in that position. Just ask him.

“I wanted [that scenario] a lot more when overtime started, and even more when I got stripped by that short goal,” Rubeor said. “I’m looking for the shot first, but at the same time, they were sliding pretty quickly all game. The opening presented itself and it was one of those things.”

Rubeor got a taste of the national championship in 2006 when he was one of the team’s most emotional leaders even though he was only a sophomore. He wouldn’t accept anything less than getting another shot this season, especially in the wake of last year’s surprising first-round exit at the hands of a less-talented Delaware team.

Starsia pointed out his leader’s makeup earlier this week before coming to Annapolis for the quarterfinals. He noted how Rubeor was playing with an urgency that only a senior can exhibit, and how Rubeor had talked to his teammates about staying together, playing as long as they possibly could.

That fire exploded a few weeks ago when Virginia was losing to No. 1 Duke for the second time and Rubeor couldn’t take the way the Cavaliers were getting hammered.

“It was one of those huddles in the latter stages of the Duke game that I had to put my arms around him because he was screaming,” Starsia said.

Virginia lost, but the Cavs mounted enough of a rally to let the Blue Devils know they were around.

It’s part of Rubeor’s nature to leave nothing on the field. Sometimes Starsia has to monitor the situation because he knows that the senior might not be able to control his emotions.

In a play late in last week’s UMBC game, with UVa holding a slim one-goal lead, Rubeor was chasing a Retrievers’ defenseman up the sideline and running right there alongside of him was Starsia, screaming, “Don’t foul this kid, Ben, don’t foul him.”

“I knew he was going to whack him,” Starsia chuckled. “I could see it in his eyes. Luckily he heard me and didn’t foul him.”

Same situation after Rubeor got stripped for the turnover in overtime against Maryland on Saturday. The coach wasn’t yelling, but he hoped his star player would avoid the penalty box.

Rubeor calmly kept his composure and instead of getting mad, Rubeor got even, scoring the winning goal, the 12th time in his last 13 games he has scored multiple times.

Thank goodness there’s a wild man in there somewhere, but Rubeor can easily make the transition to mild-mannered academician when the situation arises, like after being asked what getting back to the Final Four means to him.

“We’ve all waited a long time for this,” he said in reference to the gap in between Final Four visits. “It’s something, especially being a senior now, that I really have an appreciation for. I can speak for everyone on the team that there’s an added excitement when you get this opportunity.”

Now, it’s on to Foxboro and a shot for the program’s second national title in three years.

Like Starsia said, “With Ben on your team, you’ve got to like your chances.”