Bocklet, Stanwick, 'D' Get It Done for UVA
by Scott Ratcliffe | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Steele Stanwick (left) and Chris Bocklet have established a strong chemistry early in the season for No. 2-ranked Virginia. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia made it six
straight seasons with a victory over Stony Brook on Saturday, as
the No. 2 Cavaliers’ defense halted the Seawolves
high-powered offensive attack in a relatively low-scoring contest,
13-8.
Stony Brook, ranked No. 18 in the USILA coaches poll, came to
Charlottesville fresh off a 21-14 win over Siena, and hoped to give
the Wahoos the kind of game it gave them in 2008, when the
Seawolves fell 15-13 in a tightly-contested affair.
“[Stony Brook is] a very good offensive lacrosse team in
particular,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia.
“I’ve been telling folks that we’re going to have
to be a good defensive team while this young offense gets their
feet on the ground, particularly early in the season.”
Due to the ferocious winter weather, Saturday’s game was
moved to the school’s University Hall Turf Field, where
Virginia (3-0) hadn’t played since 2007.
In that game, Drexel stunned the Wahoos, 11-10, in the season
opener. Cavalier sophomore Steele Stanwick and his teammates made
it a point to avoid a repeat performance.
“I wasn’t on the team then, but I was aware of that
loss to Drexel,” said Stanwick, “so we wanted to come
out here and set a nice tone and get off to a good start against a
good team.”
Stanwick, back at his natural position on attack, and classmate
Chris Bocklet each registered a hat trick on Saturday to lead
Virginia offensively. Between the pipes, goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman
came up with big save after big save, finishing with 13.
In the first quarter, UVA freshman middie Chris LaPierre scored
one of his two goals just 15 seconds after Rhamel Bratton at the
12:23 mark, but the Seawolves (1-1) hung around, trailing 4-3 going
into the second.
Bocklet, who scored a career-best four goals at Mount St.
Mary’s earlier in the week, tallied three unanswered goals to
begin the second stanza. The South Salem, N.Y., native has already
notched nine goals this season to lead the team.
“I’m just trying to play my part,” Bocklet said.
“Just kind of being an off-ball player, following these guys
like the Brattons and Steele, and helping when I can.”
Starsia compared Bocklet’s game to that of former Cavalier
Garrett Billings, who is now making a name as a rookie member of
the NLL’s Toronto Rock.
“We couldn’t play the two of them together last year,
so Chris had to just wait his turn,” Starsia said.
“We’ve seen some of the things in practice, and now
he’s showing it to everybody else. He has a lot of poise and
I think he expects to be doing what he’s doing, and
that’s a real plus for us.”
In his fourth season at the helm, Stony Brook coach Rick Sowell
has his team moving in the right direction. The Seawolves returned
95 percent of their scoring output from last year’s 9-6 team,
and are regarded as one of the most explosive offenses around.
Against a team like Virginia, Sowell knew that Stony Brook would
have to play a near-perfect game to come away with the upset
win.
“We just didn’t play our A game today,” admitted
Sowell after the loss, adding that he didn’t think anybody
could keep his offense below 10 goals. “Now, Virginia
probably had something to do with that. We obviously know
they’re a good team and playing their first home game, we
knew they’d be excited.
“I’m proud of the way our guys hung in there. The game
could have gotten away from us late. We scored some goals in the
fourth quarter, and that’s certainly one of the positives
that we’ll take away.”
The Canadian-born duo of Jordan McBride and Kevin Crowley a week
ago against Siena combined for 19 points. Virginia defenseman Matt
Lovejoy and the talented UVA defense blanketed McBride on Saturday,
however, limiting the junior attacker to just two shots on goal
after he exploded for eight goals in the season opener.
Crowley and senior Tom Compitello each scored twice to lead the
Seawolves, who were outshot 27-11 after halftime. Virginia also won
the all-important ground ball battle, 46-30.
Stony Brook will attempt to bounce back next Saturday, as the
Seawolves host Towson.
It won’t get any easier for the Cavaliers, as two-time
defending NCAA champion and current No. 1 Syracuse rolls into town
March 7. Starsia preaches to not focus on big games, but realizes
that the eyes of the lacrosse world will be focused on central
Virginia next weekend.
“Some games get more attention than others. This one
certainly will, and everyone involved in this rivalry understands
that,” he said of next Sunday's showdown. “This will be
a fun week.
“In this game, early on in the season when neither one of us
really know our teams that well, there’s a tendency for this
game to be a little more wide open than it might be if we played
them again in May.”
News & Notes
Virginia is now 13-5 in home openers under Starsia, and 17-2
all-time at the Turf Field. When his team is ranked in the top five
of the coaches poll, Starsia boasts a 155-38 mark... Sophomore
middie Ryan Benincasa had a big day for Virginia, winning 12 of 16
faceoffs. He has won over 70 percent of faceoffs on the young
season... Seawolves goalie Charlie Paar had an impressive afternoon
despite allowing 13 goals. The senior from Huntington, N.Y., found
a home with Stony Brook after bouncing from Towson to Long
Island’s Nassau Community College, and wowed those in
attendance with some unbelievable saves, including three in a row
that had the crowd in a frenzy.
