The #1 Virginia men’s lacrosse team played with heavy hearts this evening as they systematically dismantled Mount Saint Mary’s 18-4 in front of a very quiet crowd at Klockner Stadium.
The Wahoos jumped out in front as they scored the first 8 goals of the game. Virginia’s Shamel Bratton, Brian Carroll, and Chris Bocklet all scored three goals a piece as the Hoos were firing on all cylinders both offensively and defensively. Goalie Adam Ghitelman played well in the pipes as he made 9 saves.
Less than two weeks after the tragic and senseless murder of Yeardley Love, UVA fans were able to cheer together in unison as Bratton scored the very first goal of the contest.
Virginia’s Steele Stanwick had an excellent game as well as he added one goal to go along with five assists.
In the press conference after the game, which had many more media participants than a normal first round lax game at UVA, Virginia coach Dom Starsia looked exhausted as he fielded questions. Coach Starsia said, "It was hard to predict this kind of performance based on what practice has been like the last couple of days."
The Virginia women return to action Sunday, as they face Towson at Noon. The game will be televised by ESPN-U. Go Hoos!
-UVA postgame quotes-
Virginia Head Coach Dom Starsia
Opening Statement:
"First and foremost, congratulations to Mount St. Mary’s for a great season. Tommy Gravante is one of the gentlemen in our game. I thought they carried the play to us early on. It may have just been a little shock to our system to have the game start finally, and I thought we stood around a little bit. I thought the goalies on both ends of the field played very well throughout. Adam (Ghitelman) kept them off the board at the beginning of the game, which certainly changed way it started. I thought that we settled in, and I thought you witnessed a team that was very glad to be back on the field again and excited to be playing. Ultimately, we probably played almost as well as we’ve played all year. It certainly would have been hard to predict that we’d be capable of putting that kind of performance together based on what practice has been like the last couple of days, but I’ve got great assistants who took care of things when I was pulled out of town for awhile. The older guys on the team stepped up and assumed some responsibility throughout the past two weeks. I think that what you saw was a culmination of outstanding leadership and a joy to be playing lacrosse again."
On his pregame message to the team:
"Especially during this time of year, it’s important to stay together for awhile more. There was no way to guarantee the result of today’s game, but I really just wanted us to win so we could have some more time. It would’ve been really hard if we’d had to disperse now, and I think it’s really good that we can stay together another week."
Junior Shamel Bratton
On playing in the first game since Robert Morris (May 1):
"I just felt really good to get out there, play, and run around – play against some guys that are of a different color since we’ve been practicing with each other for the past week."
On playing next at Stony Brook in Long Island, near his hometown:
"I’m really happy to go to Long Island. I play pretty well in that stadium from my high school days, and a lot of family and friends will come out to see us."
Junior Adam Ghitelman
On playing in the first game since Robert Morris (May 1):
"Everyday at practice, I face the best shooters in the nation, so it’s not really a layoff. I’m tested everyday by these guys surrounding me. It was nice to come out here and play, and I thought everything worked out well."
On the mood going into game:
"All of these playoff games are going to be tough, and you don’t necessarily know how they’re going to pan out. The energy before the game and how people were acting this week in practice – I thought we had a high-energy week in practice. That correlates to how you play in the game most of the time."
Sophomore Steele Stanwick
On his first goal:
"We were emphasizing riding. We were pretty successful against them earlier in the year riding, and our coach just emphasized that going into the game. I was lucky to pick off a pass, and I think it might have set a tone a little bit. It all starts with that, and our play kind of picked up from that."
On getting off to a quick start:
"I think we were ready to go from the start. Coach always emphasizes ground balls and faceoffs, so once we started getting those, I don’t think there was any question that we weren’t ready to play."
Mount St. Mary’s Head Coach Tom Gravante
Opening statement:
"First of all I’d like to say that the Mount St. Mary’s community is deeply sorry for the incident down here. We are holding both the UVa lacrosse teams and the UVa community in our thoughts and prayers. We hoped that this No. 1 team would rebound for their coach, who is a very classy guy, and play the way they did."
On his comment that he hoped UVa would play well tonight:
"It was a very horrible incident that the community down here had to deal with. I have a lot of respect for Coach Starsia and that’s what you hope for. They’re a good team and the loss of two lives down here is truly a shame. We hoped that the kids would rebound for that guy and play the game that they played tonight. We’ve had a tremendous season and there was no way I was going to try and motivate my kids with that incident. You must understand that there are only four athletic scholarships in my program so for these kids to compete at the level they did this year and win the MAC Conference, is a tremendous honor. Today was going to be like any other game. We were going to go into this game flying high and try to compete with them but they are the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. I am very proud of my kids. "
On Virginia’s improvement since their first matchup:
"Based on the weather they are faster. We played them in February so it was a bit cold. I warned my kids that they would be much stronger and faster. They also haven’t played since the ACC Tournament so they were well rested. I warned my team that there was a sleeping giant down there."
On letting Virginia take the outside shot:
"We would absolutely rather them take an outside shot. We have a pretty good goaltender in T.C. DiBartolo. I don’t think he played one of his best games tonight and specifically, against UVa but we’d still rather give them those outside shots as opposed to those 16-yard step-down shots. This team moves the ball very, very well and I wouldn’t be surprised if these young men win the whole thing again this year."
Senior Matt Nealis
On playing Virginia a second time:
"I was actually really excited because the first time we played them, we didn’t play to our ability and I thought we had a good chance to have a great game. They blew me away with how well they played tonight – making shots from the top of the box. I just wish it had gone a little better."
On Virginia’s offense:
"We had a game plan going into it. Honestly really don’t know – we were just all over the place. They are a very fast face team. Usually the teams that we play are good but [Virginia] is just a completely different caliber team that we hadn’t seen since the beginning of the season. They got off to a good start right off the bat."
Freshman Andrew Scalley
On Virginia’s focus:
"They are No. 1 for a reason and nothing can take their attention away from lacrosse. They got the job done tonight."
