(Photo Courtesy of Team 91 Maryland)
Lars Tiffany and the Virginia Cavaliers picked up a commitment in the 2022 class on Thursday, as McDonogh, Md., defenseman Malachi Jones announced his commitment to the 2019 NCAA champs.
Continue reading “McDonogh, Md., Defenseman Malachi Jones Discusses Virginia Commitment” →
(Photo Credit: Emily Elconin/The News & Advance)
Head coach Lars Tiffany and the Virginia Cavaliers picked up a commitment in the 2022 class on Friday, as Riverside, Va. defenseman John Schroter announced his commitment to the 2019 NCAA champs. The in-state product is the third commitment in the class for the Cavaliers, joining Georgetown Prep., DC, faceoff man Mac Eldridge and Gilman, Md., goalie Kyle Morris.
Continue reading “Virginia Adds In-State Defenseman to 2022 Class” →
Freshman goalie Patrick Burkinshaw came into Virginia with high praise and high expectations. An Under Armour All-American, Burinshaw was ranked as the number 1 goalie and number 12 player overall in the 2018 recruiting class.
Even with the high rankings and praise, it means nothing once you step foot on campus. Every man has to prove themselves no matter how many stars you had next to your name in high school.
The Madison, CT native and Brunswick school product was coming into a goalie room at Virginia headlined by Alex Rode who broke onto the scene last season as a freshman in 2018. It was evident that Burkinshaw would have to prove himself if he wanted to get a shot at playing meaningful minutes as a freshman.
Many thought it might be a year or two before Burkinshaw really got to showcase his talents since he would be behind a goalie such as Rode, who made 142 saves with a .493 save percentage as a freshman, and started in 12 out of 15 games.
Virginia started the 2019 season with a 1-2 record, with loses to Loyola and High Point and a win over Lehigh. After that 1-2 start head coach Lars Tiffany made a change in goal and started the freshman Burkinshaw on the road against Princeton.
First career start for goalie Patrick Burkinshaw and he already has 14 saves through 30 minutes of play. #GoHoos 🔷⚔️🔶 pic.twitter.com/f8m6zbzmEV
— Virginia Men’s Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) February 23, 2019
Burkinshaw showed his prowess right away racking up 14 saves in the first half alone. Coming back in the second half Burkinshaw made 14 more to help lead the Cavaliers to a 12-11 overtime victory. His biggest save of the game was the one that helped force the overtime period.
In the win, Burkinshaw faced 55 shots from the Princeton Tigers offense. The Tigers gave him and the Virginia defense all they had with Michael Sowers leading the charge.
Goalie Patrick Burkinshaw made 24 saves today, a facility record. His 24th save was one of the biggest saves of the day, helping force overtime. #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/Up79gh5ekV
— Virginia Men’s Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) February 23, 2019
24 saves is very impressive for a freshman in his college debut, especially against a high caliber offense. But it was more than just his personal numbers that made Burkinshaw’s performance even more impressive.
By the conclusion of the game Burkinshaw had already broken three records. Burkinshaw broke the school record for saves in a game by a freshman and the school record for most saves in a first career start. The freshman goalie also broke the record for most saves by a goalie in the Class of 1952 Stadium, Princeton’s home field. He also put himself amongst the best as Burkinshaw has the the national single-game save record for the 2019 season.
After just one start as a college freshman Burkinshaw is already garnering attention across the country, and looks like he may be starting a few more games for Virginia, at the least.
On Monday evening the #11 ranked High Point Panthers marched into Charlottesville, VA and came out victors over the #12 ranked Virginia Cavaliers. The Panthers rallied from down 3-0 early to take down their second ACC opponent of the year.
Read More: Troutner’s 19 Saves Lead High Point to Road Victory Over Duke.
Virginia started the game off very hot as Matt Moore, Dox Aitken, and Ian laviano combined for three goals in the first five minutes of the game to go up 3-0 early. After that 3-0 run Virginia wouldn’t get much going at all on offense as the High Point defense really limited them.
Meanwhile, the High Point offense was heating up as they went on a five goal that lasted from midway through the first until early in the second quarter. During that High Point run Asher Nolting notched one while Jake Schleppy found the back of the net twice. Koby Russell and Taylor Acra also scored during that run.
The Cavaliers were able to tie it up at 5-5 with with 6:01 left in the second quarter, and it was a very tight game from that point on. High Point and Virginia each scored twice more to make it an even 7-7 tie heading into the half.
It was a back-and forth start to the second half as Matt Moore started the scoring for Virginia and Ben Baker answered for High Point just eight seconds later. Just eighteen seconds later Virginia had scored twice more, with a Petey LaSalla goal giving them a 10-8 lead with 10:30 in the third.
After High Point tied it up again at 10-10 with 3:50 left in the third was a very tight and exciting end to the quarter. Each side went back-and-forth in the last two minutes of the quarter. Matt Moore found the back of the net with :41 in the third to give Virginia the 12-11 lead heading into the final fifteen minutes of play.
High Point was able to score a goal pretty early in the fourth to tie things up at 12-12. The Panthers defense held their own and Troutner started to heat up the fourth, which really gave High Point a boost of energy. A Chris Young goal with 7:09 in the fourth put High Point up 13-12. After a forced turnover on a clear the panthers scored an empty netter to go up 14-12 with 2:02 in the game. Virginia got a late goal from freshman Jeff Connor, but the High Point defense stood tall and prevented the Cavaliers from scoring in the final minute to force overtime.
High Point was led by Asher Nolting and his 4 goals. Chris Young and Koby Russell also had 2 points (1G,1A) in the win. On defense Clayton Krol really agve the Panthers a boost with 2 caused turnovers and 5 groud balls.
Virginia saw Matt Moore’s lead the Cavaliers offense with 7 points (3G,4A). Ian Laviano also had 4 goals. On defense it was Jared Conners (5CT,3GB) and Logan Greco (3CT,5GB) that led the way for the Cavaliers.
Tim Troutner made 17 saves for High Point while Alex Rode made 12 saves for Virginia.
The Virginia Cavaliers and High Point Panthers are set to faceoff in a Monday evening top 20 matchup. The Cavaliers come into this game after defeating Lehigh on Friday while High Point escaped Drexel in overtime on Saturday.
Virginia comes into this game hot off a good win against Lehigh on Friday. In that win the Cavaliers defense really showed much prowess in leading Virginia to victory after getting down in the first half. This defense will have a bigger challenge on Monday then a shorthanded Lehigh.
High point is in the top 25 in offensive efficiency and are in the top 20 in offensive pace, according to Lacrosse Reference’s stats. The Panthers offense is led by Asher Nolting and Chris Young who have been deadly early in this season. Nolting has a total of 17 points (7G,10A) while Young has 14 points (10G,4A). Those two aren’t the only weapons that High Point has on that offensive side of the ball.
When the Panthers upset Duke they utilized a ton of different weapons to bury the Blue Devils defense. High Point is able to draw out an opposing defense and get the ball inside to a cutter on the crease for a goal. The Virginia defense will especially have to stay tight and be aggressive on Nolting who seems to have eyes all over the field with his knack for finding open guys in tight areas.
On defense for High Point they are led by goalie Tim Troutner who has recorded 38 save this season and has an overall save percentage of 62%. The Panthers will need Troutner to be on point to stop the shooters that Virginia possesses on that offense. Chris Price and Griff Caliguri have also been two key pieces to that Panthers offense that will look to have a big day against the Cavaliers.
Virginia’s offense is is led by Michael Kraus, Dox Aitken, and Matt Moore who have all had good starts to the season. Kraus has tallied 9 points (5G,4A) thus far while Aitken and Moore have 7 points each through the first two games of the season. Ryan Conrad and Ian Laviano have also been good to start the season. The Cavaliers offense will look to stay consistent much like they did in the second half against Lehigh.
They can’t let themselves get down and start making the mistakes we saw them make against Loyola. Much of those offensive woes can start on the defensive end of the field. Virginia is led on defense by Jared Connors and Logan Grecko who will be looking to have another good game and shut down that high powered Panthers offense.
In goal to anchor Virginia’s defense is sophomore Alex Rode who has continued to improve after a stellar freshman campaign in 2018. Rode has 17 saves with a 40% save percentage through their first two games this season.
This is a very good matchup that has some history to it as these two teams have met every year since 2016 when High Point upset Virginia 12-11 in overtime. This years matchup may be the best yet as both squads come in ranked in the top 20, and they play a similar style of fast paced lacrosse. Add the shot clock in the equation and we could see a lot of goals unless the defense for either team has anything to say about that.
