May 29, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- For three straight games in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, unseeded Massachusetts had played giant-killer, upsetting higher ranked teams to reach the national championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. Unfortunately for the Minutemen, top-seeded Virginia decided that it was time to create its own magic on Monday.

Fueled by a six-goal third quarter explosion, the Cavaliers played a dominating second half and halted all Massachusetts hopes of a fourth-straight upset with a 15-7 victory before a championship record crowd of 47,062.

Virginia claimed its third national championship since 1999 and its fourth overall NCAA crown while recording the most successful season in Division I history with a final 17-0 record.

"It's a little overwhelming to hear all the statistics about our team," said Head Coach Dom Starsia, who also paced the Cavaliers to the 1999 and 2003 titles. "To come into the tournament and win out is a very special moment for this team and for Virginia lacrosse."

Virginia followed its season-long blue-print for success by jumping to a 4-1 first quarter lead behind two goals by senior Matt Poskay (5 goals) and one each by freshman Danny Gladding (1g-3a) and senior Matt Ward (5 goals).

But unlike many of UVA's first 16 victims in 2006, the Minutemen (13-5) regrouped in the second quarter and pulled to within 5-4 at halftime, with sophomore Rory Pedrick, senior Jake Deane (1g-1a) and freshman Jim Connelly tallying goals.

Brett Garber's goal to open the third quarter scoring at the 13:57 mark pulled UMass even for just the second time all day and re-ignited the upset hopes. That's when Virginia's talent and experience finally took over.

The Cavaliers scored eight of the game's next nine goals - including three each by Poskay and Ward and two by fellow senior midfielder Kyle Dixon - over the next 18 minutes and five seconds to remove all doubt as to which team would raise the championship trophy.

"You've got to be at your best every second Virginia has the ball," said UMass' All-American defenseman Jack Reid, who was assigned to Ward throughout much of the afternoon. "They can bury it in the back of the cage. They have talent all over the place...it's tough to stay with them."

Starsia noted that the Cavaliers finally hit their stride after the intermission break, as evidenced by their 17-8 advantage in shots and 7-2 edge in face-offs during the third quarter.

"We sort of stumbled around a bit in the second quarter," he said. "We got smarter (with our) shooting in the third quarter. We're a team that can get on a run if we win face-offs...it was a team effort. We played the kind of lacrosse we are capable of playing."

Ward, who set a new single-tournament scoring record with 16 goals in four games, was named the Most Outstanding Player, and joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Poskay, Dixon, Glading and defenseman Michael Culver.

Massachusetts was represented by senior attackman Sean Morris, who was limited to just two assists after scoring three goals in Saturday's semifinal win, along with Deane, Reid and goalie Doc Schneider (17 saves).

Virginia finished the year as the nation's top-scoring team and had just two of its games decided by four goals or fewer en route to the first undefeated season in school history. The Cavaliers won nine of their 17 games by at least eight goals.

"They are a great team," said Massachusetts' Head Coach Greg Canella. "They are a tremendous team all over the field. We were beaten by the better team today."

Notes:

• After the game the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame collected several game used pieces of equipment to be placed on display in the Hall of Fame in Baltimore. The pieces collected were: Matt Ward's stick, Sean Morris' gloves, Matt Poskay's elbow pads, Matt Kelly's helmet and Virginia coach Dom Starsia's ball cap.
• More then 13,000 tickets have been sold for next year's NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship which will be held from May 26-28 in Baltimore, Md. at M&T Bank Stadium.