Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/27/19
From Press Release
The Virginia Cavaliers (16-3) and the Yale Bulldogs (15-3) meet today in the final round of the 2019 NCAA Stadium at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
UVA is ranked No. 4 in the USILA coaches poll and No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse/Maverick media poll. Yale is ranked No. 3 in the coaches poll and No. 4 in the media poll.
UVA, champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, is the No. 3 national seed and earned an at-large bid. The Cavaliers advanced to their 10th NCAA title game with a 13-12 double-overtime win against Duke in the semifinal round. Yale also earned an at-large bid and is the No. 5 national seed. The Bulldogs are the defending national champions and advanced to the finals for the second year in a row after defeating the No. 1 seed Penn State, 21-17.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The game will be televised live on ESPN2. Anish Shroff will call the play-by-play, while Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra will provide analysis. Don Zimmerman will join the crew as the rules expert. ESPN will also simulcast the broadcast on the WatchESPN app, or by logging onto ESPN3.com. The radio broadcast can also be heard on SiriusXM ACC Radio channel 371.
UVA TIDBITS
• UVA is led by junior midfielder and First Team All-American Dox Aitken (Haverford School), who has set UVA’s single-season goals record by a midfielder with 42. Aitken had three goals and an assist in Saturday’s 13-12 2OT win over Duke.
• UVA is also led by sophomore attackman and Honorable Mention All-American Matt Moore (Garnet Valley), who has 42 goals and 42 assists and is the first 40-40 player in school history. Moore had two goals and two assists in Saturday’s win, including the game-winning assist on Ian Laviano’s tally.
• UVA also features freshman midfielder Jeff Conner (Strath Haven, 4G, 9A), backup faceoff man Justin Schwenk (Spring-Ford, 78 of 144 wins), and backup midfielder Grayson Sallade (Manheim Township).
• UVA is in the final round for the first time since 2011.
• UVA’s 23rd trip to Championship Weekend ranks No. 4 all-time in NCAA history.
• Ian Laviano is only the fourth Cavalier to score at least 50 goals in a season. Laviano is No. 4 with 50 scores.
SERIES INFO
• Today marks the eighth all-time meeting between the Cavaliers and the Bulldogs. Yale leads the series with a narrow 4-3 margin.
• UVA and Yale last met in 1991 when the Cavaliers won 13-6 in a game played at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. Perry Frazer led UVA with four goals and three assists for seven points. Kevin Pehlke added three goals and two assists, while Andy Kraus, the uncle of current Cavalier Michael Kraus, added three goals.
YALE TIDBITS
• Yale features Second Team All-American defenseman Chris Fake (Hun School) and key reserve defender Bryce DeMuth (Avon Grove).
• Yale head coach Andy Shay has brought his Bulldogs back to the NCAA title game after winning the school’s first title in 2018.
• Jackson Morrill leads Yale with 93 points on a team-best 47 assists to go with his 46 goals.
• Matt Gaudet leads the team with 49 goals and has 51 points. Matt Brandau has 47 goals and 22 assists for 69 points, which ranks No. 2 on the team.
• TD Ierlan leads the nation in faceoffs winning percentage (75.8) and ground balls (282).
• Jack Starr is saving 45.7 percent of shots between the pipes and is posting an 11.43 goals against average.
