Photo: cville-lax.com

  Photo copyright (c) 2007 Tom McCrystal  
 

The Boys Middle School League continues play at Darden Towe Park on Sunday. (Click for a larger image: 116K)


 

 

Virginia Men
The Cavaliers kick off their ACC schedule in the same game that #8 Maryland (7-2, 1-1 ACC) finishes it. The Terrapins enter the game in second place in the conference this season; a win against Virginia will keep alive the possibility for Maryland of a tie for the conference regular season title.

The Cavaliers and Terrapins first met on the lacrosse field in 1926. While Maryland leads the series 44-32, last year it was all UVa. In their regular season game in College Park, it only took Virgina 15 second to draw first blood on their way to a 15-5 pounding of Maryland. In their second meeting, Maryland fared a little better, but still ended up whipped as Virginia won the game for the ACC title 11-5.

While only two current Terps have scored goals against Virginia during their careers, Maryland faces a Virginia offensive powerhouse. Ben Rubeor leads the nation in goals (29) and points (43) and has scored in every game this season. Rubeor is backed up by Danny Gladding who, with a pair of 4-goal games this season, has hit the back of the net 17 times this season.

Virginia’s defense continues to be one of the strongest in the country. Since the opening loss to Drexel, the Cavalier’s opponents are averaging less than 6 goals per game — only Syracuse and Towson have scored more than 7 in their matchups.

Virginia Women
The Virginia women’s lacrosse team, ranked fourth in all the major polls, will draw against ACC rival and fifth-ranked Duke on Saturday, March 31 at noon in Klockner Stadium. The Cavaliers (9-1, 2-1 ACC) are coming off a 16-13 win over in-state rival James Madison, ranked sixth this week, in which the `Hoos rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Dukes in Harrisonburg. Duke (8-1, 1-1 ACC) is riding a four-game winning streak, including a 16-7 win over Virginia Tech last Saturday in Durham.

This matchup is a classic Virginia-Duke contest; as usual, the Cavaliers feature one of the top defenses in the nation and are ranked third in scoring defense heading into the contest. Virginia’s keeper, Kendall McBrearty, ranks in the top-five in goals-against average and 15th in save percentage in her first full year of starting. Her defense, led by US team members Jessy Morgan and Jen Holden, has limited the opposition to 20 shots per game and has surrendered only 30 8-meter attempts through 10 games. Duke ranks fifth in scoring offense and is led by US teammate Caroline Cryer.

High School Lacrosse
The 5-1 St. Anne’s-Belfield Girls Varsity team sees doubleheader action at home on Saturday. The Saints take the field against Colorado Academy at 9:00am and step back on the field against Westfield High School at 10:30. The STAB Girls team is ranked #4 in the state on the LaxPower Computer Rankings.

Middle School Lacrosse
The Boys Middle School League enters its second week of competition, with 8 games on tap at Darden Towe Park on Sunday. In addition, the Jouett and Shenandoah Midgets as well as the Buford Juniors travel to Rockingham for road games on Saturday.