My take—A lot of the Terps still have a sick feeling from the loss to UVA in the title game. I will say it–the Cavs were LUCKY that Colin Briggs committed a violation large enough to be suspended for the Semi final game against Denver. He had fresh legs –no one else on the field did–to his credit Briggs scored 5 goals and the rest is history.
Well, I’ve said it shouldn’t be called a rematch (even if it technically is and is being aggressively promoted as such by our capable marketing go-getter Katie Thompson), but this weekend’s game between the Wahoos and the Terps promises to be one heck of a lacrosse game.
The Cavaliers are 8-1 on the season after dropping an 11-10 decision in overtime to Johns Hopkins in an endlessly hyped No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown this past Saturday in Charlottesville.
It’s easy to take a quick look at Virginia’s roster and say that the strength of its team is its offense, but that would diminish the role of a solid defense that is capable of throwing multiple looks at opposing offenses. The Cavaliers showed last season that playing primarily zone defense can take a team to a title, but this year’s group plays more man-to-man with the zone thrown in as needed.
But the offense Virginia rolls out is second to none in the NCAA and one of the big reasons for that is Stanwick, who despite not being 100% healthy for all of 2012 still leads the Cavaliers with 39 points on 11 goals and an eye-popping 28 assists. But Stanwick’s career vs. the Terps has also been impressive with 11 goals and three assists vs. Maryland in five meetings.
Virginia’s offensive riches don’t stop with Stanwick. In addition to him, the Cavalier offense features four other preseason All-Americans. Briggs was a first team selection, while attackman Chris Bocklett was a second teamer. Do-everything middie Chris LaPierre was a third team pick, while middie Rob Emery was a honorable mention selection.
Add in sophomore attackman/midfielder Mark Cockerton, junior attackman Matt White, freshman middie Ryan Tucker and redshirt freshman attackman Owen Van Arsdale and you have a Cavalier offense that goes eight deep with double-digit scorers. Maryland’s young defense will have to be tough and disciplined in order to rise to the challenge.
This year’s meeting with Virginia also marks something that hasn’t happened in 30 years. Both the Cavaliers and the Terrapins are coming off of losses in the previous week just as both teams did last season. The last time both teams lost its previous game in back-to-back seasons was 1981-82. The Cavaliers lost to Hopkins in both 1981 and 1982, while Maryland dropped games to UNC. Both times Virginia bounced back to beat the Terps (23-12 in 1981, 14-11 in 1982). The Terrapins topped the Cavaliers 12-7 last year, so if history is truly going to repeat itself then Maryland will come out on top on Saturday.
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