Catamounts Come Calling on No. 1 'Hoos
from press release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – For the second straight week
Virginia (6-0) graces the No. 1 position in both the Nike/Inside
Lacrosse media and USILA coaches polls. The Cavaliers received all
possible No. 1 votes in both polls except for one in the media poll
that went to ACC foe North Carolina. UVa will host the Vermont
Catamounts (1-4) out of the America East Conference, Tuesday
evening, inside Klöckner Stadium. Faceoff is scheduled for 7
p.m. Live stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
Because of the John Mayer concert at John Paul Jones Arena on
Tuesday night, parking for baseball and men's lacrosse fans is
restricted to the Cage lots. Overflow parking will be available at
the Emmet-Ivy Garage.
Tuesday night marks the third straight season the Cavaliers have
hosted the Catamounts in a series where UVa holds the all-time 2-0
advantage. Vermont is coached by fromer UVa All-American Ryan
Curtis. A four-year letterwinner under Virginia head coach Dom
Starsia, Curtis won the Schmeisser Cup as the nation's outstanding
defenseman in 1999 when the Cavaliers won their first national
championship in 27 years. Starsia is 7-1 when facing his former
players, including 4-1 vs. Jamie Munro (formerly of Denver) and 1-0
vs. Lars Tiffany (formerly of Stony Brook, but now at Brown).
Curtis is Starsia's only former UVa player he has faced, while
Munro and Tiffany played at Brown under Starsia.
Vermont is the second school out of the America East that Virginia
has faced this season, a league the Cavaliers hold a 25-2 all-time
mark against, including 17 in a row. Early this season Virginia
topped Stony Brook in Charlottesville, 13-8.
Brian Carroll scored three goals and dished one assist to lead UVa
to the 16-4 win over Vermont in last season's meeting at
Klöckner Stadium. Steele Stanwick tallied two goals and two
assists while Adam Ghitelman saved 10 shots and allowed two scores
in three quarters of work, pacing the Cavaliers' victory.
Virginia enters Tuesday night's game on the heels of a 12-4 triumph
at No. 8 Cornell on Saturday. The Big Red's four goals equaled a
program low during the 10-year Jeff Tambroni coaching era, one that
ranks No. 3 in the nation with 65 wins since the start of the 2005
season. Before UVa's victory, Cornell held a 22-1 home advantage
since the start of the 2007 season, losing only to Ohio State in
the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Chris Bocklet, Rhamel Bratton, Shamel Bratton and Colin Briggs all
tallied two goals apiece to lead the UVa scoring attack on the Big
Red. Bocklet and Stanwick each recorded two assists in a game where
the defense shined. Defensemen Kenny Clausen and Ryan Nizolek shut
down Cornell's top two scorers, Ryan Hurley and Rob Pannell, while
Ghitelman was stellar in between the pipes. The junior goalie
played 55 minutes, recorded 14 saves, shut out the Big Red in the
second quarter and allowed only three goals, one of which came late
in the fourth quarter.
Bocklet leads Virginia with 17 goals and 24 points on the season,
while Stanwick holds the team lead with 13 assists. Rhamel Bratton
and Stanwick are next on the team with 11 and 10 goals
respectively, while freshman Matt White has registered at least one
goal in every game this season to give him the team's fourth-best
mark with nine goals. Ghitelman is saving .570 of the shots against
him, while posting a 7.15 GAA.
Vermont registered its first victory of the season on Saturday at
VMI, 12-8. The Catamounts trailed 8-5 late, but scored seven
unanswered goals for the victory. Drew Philie and Geoff Worley each
lead the team with 10 goals. Philie leads the squad with six
assists and 16 points. Liam Thomas rounds out the top scorers with
8 goals. David Barton saw his first action of the season at goalie
after replacing starter Alex Plavner 19 minutes into the VMI
contest. Barton made seven saves for a .583 percentage and holds a
7.27 GAA. Plavner is saving .494 of shots with a 9.97 GAA.
Virginia has a 22-game winning streak going back to 2001 in
regular-season mid-week games, including a 15-7 triumph at Mount
St. Mary's on Feb. 23 and a 20-6 victory over VMI on March 9.
Virginia is also 24-1 all-time in night games at Klöckner
Stadium, losing a 6 p.m. game to Duke in 2008, 19-9.
Virginia hits the road again on Sunday when they travel to Towson.
Game is slated for noon and will be broadcast in the
Charlottesville area on WINA AM 1070 with John Freeman calling the
action. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and in the
Baltimore region on WMAR.
