Matt Moore leads Virginia in assists. Ian Laviano has a team-high 42 goals. Michael Kraus is one the most dynamic attackmen in the postseason. And Dox Aitken already owns the school’s record for goals by a midfielder and still has a season to pad his lead.
Yet there’s a case to be made senior Ryan Conrad is as vital to the Cavaliers as anyone on the roster. A starting midfielder and a mainstay on faceoff wings, he had five goals and eight ground balls during Virginia’s two ACC tournament victories to earn MVP honors for the event.
“We’re just so lucky to have one man on the field when you give him the ball, we can all relax as Virginia lacrosse fans and Virginia coaches and players because it’s our ball,” coach Lars Tiffany said. “Plus, we might even score, because he’s that talented.”
Conrad is the only player in Division I with at least 70 ground balls and 10 points; he has career highs in ground balls (72), goals (19) and assists (17) this spring.
Virginia (13-3) was already well aware of Conrad’s value, having struggled to replace his do-it-all contributions after a season-ending injury in March 2018. But the missed opportunities from last year were far from Conrad’s mind after Saturday’s 10-4 defeat of Notre Dame in the ACC title game.
“I’m glad to be a part of a championship, period,” Conrad said. “I was there. I was as much a part of the team last year as I was this year. Our guys played our hearts out last year as well, but we didn’t get the job done. Just coming back, we had a second chance at it and took it home this time.”
Duke’s week off
An ACC semifinal loss to Notre Dame coupled with the league’s new tournament format meant Duke would have the weekend before the NCAA tournament off for the first time in coach John Danowski’s tenure.
Considering how consistently the Blue Devils have scheduled games on Selection Sunday through the years to stay sharp, it would seem like that would be an annoyance for Danowski, right?
“Actually, it was great,” Danowski said. “I wasn’t thrilled initially. Coming off a loss, you’re angry, but finals were beginning on Monday and we took the approach it was going to be like camp for five days.”
So last Monday, the Blue Devils (11-4) worked on ground balls, passing, catching and faceoffs. They added clearing and transition offense on Tuesday, riding and transition defense on Wednesday and individual offense and defense Thursday before having a competition to close out the weekend.
It also turned out to be a timely spot to get some rest. Danowski said defenseman J.T. Giles-Harris, who was injured in the loss to Notre Dame, wouldn’t have been able to play in ACC title game. Giles-Harris is expected to return when second-seeded Duke hosts Richmond on Sunday.
That’s just an added benefit for a coach who found a way to apply a back-to-basics approach to an unusual spot on the calendar and make the most of a different situation.
“Not that I would tank it in the future, but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be,” Danowski said.
Terps regrouping on D
Maryland (11-4) slid into the tournament as the last team into the field after dropping back-to-back games to Johns Hopkins. Yet the Terrapins, who visit Towson on Sunday, enter the postseason with questions in an unusual place: the defensive end.
“Hopkins exposed some of our pretty glaring things that we need to get better at,” senior defenseman Curtis Corley said. “I’m just happy we had another week with this group just to get better at it, and I’m just happy to have an NCAA shot because we were on the fringe right there.”
The problem for Maryland is Hopkins wasn’t the first team to cause problems. The Terps have allowed at least 12 goals in five of their last six games, the first time they’ve endured such a streak since 1995. If there is some historical solace there, that Maryland team advanced to the national title game.
In 27 NCAA tournament games under coach John Tillman, the Terps have held opponents to fewer than 10 goals in 17 of them. Re-establishing that level of defense won’t be easy, but expect some tweaks as Maryland goes on the road for a first-round game for the first time since 2012.
“With more newer pieces, and there’s been a lot more tinkering and more trying to figure out who plays together, what we do and how we do it,” Tillman said. “It’s ongoing. We’re still working on some things. As a coach at this time of year, you can still make some adjustments.”
NUMBERS OF NOTE
3
Only three of the weekend’s eight matchups feature teams who have met in the NCAA tournament. They are Syracuse-Loyola (the Orange won postseason meetings in 1990, 1997 and 1999), Maryland-Towson (the Tigers won in both 1991 and 2001) and Johns Hopkins-Notre Dame (Hopkins is 4-1 against the Irish in the tournament, with the most recent game in 2007).
5
Of the top 21 individual national leaders in save percentage, just five will participate in this weekend’s first round games. They are Loyola’s Jacob Stover (.596, second nationally), Army’s AJ Barretto (.591, third), Syracuse’s Drake Porter (.571, fifth), Richmond’s Jack Rusbuldt (.564, eighth) and Penn’s Reed Junkin (.542, 16th).
6
Coaches in this year’s field who have won at least one national championship. The group includes Syracuse’s John Desko (2000, 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009), Johns Hopkins’ Dave Pietramala (2005 and 2007), Duke’s John Danowski (2010, 2013 and 2014), Loyola’s Charley Toomey (2012), Maryland’s John Tillman (2017) and Yale’s Andy Shay (2018). Four other coaches in the field — Notre Dame’s Kevin Corrigan, Penn State’s Jeff Tambroni, Towson’s Shawn Nadelen and Virginia’s Lars Tiffany — have Memorial Day weekend experience on the sideline.
9
This is the first time in nine years the Division I tournament did not have a first-time participant in the field. In fact, the 2019 tournament is only the third time since the event expanded to 16 teams in 2003 there has not been a first-time team in the field; 2007 and 2010 were the other two seasons.