This is the ACC opener for the Wahoos (and on the flip side, the final ACC game of the year for the Terps), who are sitting at 5-4 overall on the season after a 15-8 loss to Johns Hopkins at the Face-Off Classic in Baltimore this past Saturday.
Virginia started the season out on a tear with four straight wins and was averaging 15.5 goals per game in those four contests. Since the calendar flipped to March the Cavaliers have won only once in their past five games and averaged just 9.8 goals per game in the past five.
The Cavaliers’ offense is led by its attack of Nick O’Reilly, Mark Cockerton and Owen Van Arsdale. That trio has combined for 50 goals and 36 assists for 86 points. That’s an average of 9.6 points per game. O’Reilly is the main distributor for the Wahoos with 18 assists, but Van Arsdale isn’t far behind with 14. Cockerton has been the scorer of the group and leads the team with 27 goals, including a team-best four extra-man tallies.
The first midfield line of Ryan Tucker, Matt White and Rob Emery was limited to just one goal on 21 shots in the loss to Hopkins, but for the season that group has pumped in 39 goals and added 14 assists.
The Virginia defense allowed just 8.5 goals per game in its first four games, but that average has jumped to 11.4 in the past five games. Sophomore Rhody Heller has started three of the past four games, including the past two and made 13 saves in the loss to the Blue Jays. One player to keep an eye on is close defender Greg Danseglio. The sophomore, who is a former teammate of Terp Charlie Raffa, not only in high school, but also on the U-19 U.S. National Team that won a gold medal at the 2012 FIL World Championships, isn’t afraid to get into the offensive end of the field as evidenced by his two goals and two assists so far this season.
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