Virginia Lacrosse Set to Return Bulk of Starters in 2023

Championship Weekend in faculty lacrosse is upon us and for the primary time in 4 years, Virginia isn’t one of many last 4 groups competing for the lads’s lacrosse nationwide championship. 

Final weekend, UVA’s season and reign as two-time defending nationwide champions got here to an finish in a brutal 18-9 loss by the hands of the undefeated and certain championship-bound Maryland Terrapins. As anticipated of a end result because it was, it’s nonetheless fairly uncommon for Virginia to lose within the month of Could. This was UVA’s first loss within the postseason since Could twelfth, 2018. 

Now, Virginia heads into a singular offseason, the primary in 4 years that the Cavaliers will enter having misplaced their last sport of the season. 

“It’s undoubtedly going to be driving us,” stated sophomore Cole Kastner after Virginia’s loss to Maryland on Sunday. “I believe this sense will follow me and the remainder of the fellows for some time.”

The Cavaliers will definitely have a chip on their shoulder heading into subsequent season and the excellent news is that they may even return probably the most skilled and proficient rosters within the nation. Virginia is about to return over 80% of its scoring from this season and also will convey again basically its total protection and starters on the specialty positions. 

Of the whole roster, the one gamers who’ve exhausted their eligibility are attackman Matt Moore, midfielders Jack Simmons, Jack Peele, Regan Quinn, Paul Rodriguez, and goalkeeper Miles Thompson. Barring any bulletins within the offseason of any of the fourth-year seniors deciding to not come again, UVA will return the remainder of its roster. 

In fact, Matt Moore is an enormous loss for the Cavaliers, because the three-time All-American leaves Virginia as this system’s all-time chief in factors with 277 on 143 objectives and 134 assists. 

Virginia returns the opposite two members of its deadly assault unit in Payton Cormier and Connor Shellenberger. Cormier led the workforce in scoring for the second season in a row with 50 objectives. Shellenberger was UVA’s chief in factors (76) and assists (44) and was second on the workforce in objectives with 32. The 2021 Most Excellent Participant of the NCAA Event was held and not using a level in a disappointing efficiency towards Maryland within the quarterfinals, however the redshirt sophomore season was largely successful for Shellenberger, who was named a Tewaaraton finalist and a USILA First-Workforce All-American for the second-consecutive season. 

There are various high quality candidates who might transfer up from the midfield and change Matt Moore on the UVA assault. Xander Dickson was the workforce’s third-leading scorer with 31 objectives and proved to be a strong choice at assault when Matt Moore missed time with an harm. The identical might be stated for Griffin Schutz, the previous No. 1 recruit within the class of 2021 who recorded 23 objectives and 7 assists in his first season in Charlottesville. 

UVA additionally brings again Jeff Conner, who missed time with an harm however was considered one of Virginia’s most useful gamers on each ends of the sphere down the stretch, spending plenty of time at defensive midfield and likewise tallying 14 objectives and 18 assists. Moreover, Virginia returns Peter Garno, Will Cory, and Patrick McIntosh. 

Virginia will return basically its total protection, together with All-American long-stick defenders Cole Kastner and Cade Saustad in addition to a 3rd starter in Quentin Matsui and second-line defenders Scott Bower, Mitchell Whalen, and Ben Wayer. Apart from Jack Peele, UVA may even nonetheless have the providers of their foremost short-stick defensive midfielders in All-American Grayson Sallade in addition to Evan Zinn, Noah Chizmar, and Danny Parker. 

Behind the protection would be the reigning ACC Freshman of the 12 months Matthew Nunes, who completed his first season as a Cavalier with 159 saves, probably the most saves by a primary 12 months goalie in UVA program historical past. 

To that roster, Virginia will add Vermont switch and two-time USILA All-American Thomas McConvey, who scored 60 objectives this season to guide the Catamounts to their second-straight America East Championship and NCAA Event look. 

Virginia additionally brings in one of many high recruiting courses within the nation, together with three of the highest 10 total prospects within the class of 2022: No. 3 Joey Terenzi (midfielder), No. 4 Truit Sunderland (assault), and No. 10 Mac Eldridge (faceoff). UVA’s 2022 recruiting class additionally consists of five-star defender John Schroter, four-star midfielder Mack Until, four-star attackman Ryan Colsey, four-star defenseman Malachi Jones, and four-star goalkeeper Kyle Morris. 

The Cavaliers are definitely disillusioned to haven’t accomplished the three-peat, however there’s loads to be enthusiastic about for Virginia males’s lacrosse in 2023. 

See extra Virginia males’s lacrosse information and content material: Virginia Males’s Lacrosse on Sports activities Illustrated

See extra Virginia sports activities information and content material: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports activities Illustrated

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