Billings, Stanwick Exemplify UVA's Unselfishness
by Clare Lochary | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
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Steele Stanwick's deft feeds set up three of Garrett Billings four goals Sunday in Virginia's 19-8 win over Johns Hopkins in the NCAA quarterfinals. © Kevin P. Tucker |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Virginia had all the good luck charms of a blushing bride.
Something old (senior attacker Garrett Billings), something new
(freshman attacker Steele Stanwick), something borrowed (transfer
longpole faceoff specialist Chad Gaudet) and something blue (a
shaky Blue Jay defense).
But mostly it was Stanwick and Billings, whose unselfish approach
helped spark the Cavaliers to a 19-8 blowout win over Johns Hopkins
in the first NCAA Division I men's lacrosse quarterfinal Sunday at
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
In an offensive explosion featuring six players with multiple
goals and a career-high, team-leading five goals from sophomore
midfielder Shamel Bratton, it's difficult to pinpoint standouts.
But Billings (4g, 3a) and Stanwick (2g, 5a) each put up seven
points and exemplified the smooth, unselfish play that lifted the
Cavaliers into their second consecutive NCAA semifinal.
"I've had a ton of fun playing with Steele. He finds me all the
time, probably more than I find him," said Billings, one of 10
seniors who missed Virginia's graduation ceremony today and will
receive their diplomas in a special ceremony Monday.
Stanwick fed Billings on three of his four goals, and Billings
returned the favor once. But Stanwick doesn't seem to mind dishing
up juicy feeds for his Canadian cohort.
"He's always moving off the ball and he's easy to find. He'll
catch it and do something crazy to find the back of the net," said
the freshman, whose seven points were a personal best.
The prettiest Billings-Stanwick goal came near the end of the
first quarter, when the senior attacker cut across the center to
nab an outside feed from Stanwick, then whipped a behind-the-head
shot past Blue Jay goalkeeper Mike Gvozden (14 saves) to cap an
early 6-1 run that smoothed the way to an easy win. Flashy finishes
are textbook Canadian lacrosse, but Billings is so much more than
that.
"Billings is a bear off the ball," said Hopkins head coach Dave
Pietramala, who glowingly praised Virginia's ball movement and team
approach to offense.
"That's the strength of their attack. It's not speed and it's not
stick work. Those three guys [Billings, Stanwick and senior Danny
Glading (2g, 1a)] play well together and they have a very high
lacrosse IQ. They knew where the ball was going, and we were just
reacting."
Virginia coach Dom Starsia wanted "to keep the pedal pushed down
on this game" after his team gave away a lead to barely edge the
Blue Jays, 16-15, on March 21, so the scoring continued well into
the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers have reached double digits in 16
of their 17 games this season. (The one single-digit game was a
crushing 16-5 ACC semifinal loss to Duke on April 24.)
Thus Virginia shows no sign of slowing down as its advances to its
NCAA semifinal game against a defensive-minded Cornell team that
edged Princeton, 6-4, in Saturday's quarterfinal at Hofstra.
With a foot planted so firmly on the gas pedal, the Big Red might be little more than a speed bump on the way to the Cavaliers' first national championship game since 2006.
