Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/27/23
From Press Releases
No. 2 seed Virginia (13-3) and third-seeded ACC foe Notre Dame (12-2) battle head-to-head for the third time this season in the NCAA Tournament semifinals today at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Opening faceoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Additionally, Westwood One/NCAA Radio will provide coverage of Saturday’s semifinals, which can be found on SiriusXM 84, The Varsity Network App and WestwoodOneSports.com/NCAAPlayer. WINA (1070 AM/98.9 FM) will also have the call.
The heavyweight bout between Virginia and the Fighting Irish features two Tewaaraton Award finalists in Connor Shellenberger and Notre Dame attackman Pat Kavanagh. The Irish’s only two losses of the season were to the Cavaliers, both of which instances Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the USILA coaches poll.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
7 – Virginia’s seven NCAA championships are third most by any program since the NCAA Tournament’s inception in 1971.
25 – The Cavaliers are making their 25th NCAA semifinals appearance in school history, including third under head coach Lars Tiffany (2019-21-23).
175 – Virginia’s 2023 roster combines for 175 NCAA Tournament games played. Four players in Jeff Conner, Xander Dickson, Cade Saustad and Petey LaSalla have appeared in 12 tournament games each.
VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Virginia is competing in its 42nd NCAA Tournament appearance all-time, including 25th semifinals appearance, and 94th NCAA Tournament game.
Only Johns Hopkins (48) and Maryland (45) have been to the tournament more times than UVA.
The Cavaliers are 59-34 (.634) all-time in NCAA Tournament games and have won 11 of their last 12 tournament contests, dating back to 2019.
Only Johns Hopkins (72), Maryland (70) and Syracuse (65) have more NCAA Tournament wins than Virginia.
UVA is 11-13 all-time in NCAA semifinals contests having advanced to the championship game in 1972, 1980, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019 and 2021.
PHILLY CONNECTIONS
Virginia features grad student midfielder Jeff Conner (Strath Haven) and senior midfielder Peter Garno (Haverford School) are keys to the Cavs’ attack. Conner has 15 goals and 9 assists and Garno has 14 goals and 4 assists. Additionally, grad student SSDM Grayson Sallade (Manheim Twp.) has 40 groundballs.
For Notre Dame, grad student midfielder Quinn McCahon (see feature story) has 12 goals, 7 assists and 19 groundballs. Grad student defenseman Chris Fake (Hun School) has 27 groundballs and freshman midfielder Max Busenkell (Garnet Valley) has appeared in 7 games.
SERIES HISTORY
Virginia leads the all-time series over Notre Dame, 11-8, and is currently riding a six-game win streak over the Fighting Irish, dating back to 2019.
UVA’s six-game win streak is its longest since the series began in 1993.
This year, UVA went 2-0 against the Irish in the regular season, winning 15-10 at Arlotta Stadium on March 25 and 12-8 in the regular-season finale on April 30 at Klöckner Stadium.
Notre Dame’s only two losses of the season are to the Hoos. The Irish were ranked No. 1 in the USILA coaches poll both times.
Since March 13, 2022 (441 days), Notre Dame’s only three losses have been at the hands of the Cavaliers.
The two teams have squared off in the NCAA Tournament four times (93, 94, 06, 12) with the Cavaliers leading 3-1 in such contests.
In the most recent meeting less than one month ago, UVA goalie Matthew Nunes turned in a career-high 19 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter, to knock off then-No. 1 Notre Dame, 12-8 at Klöckner Stadium. The game also saw Xander Dickson tie Doug Knight’s 1996 single season record of 56 goals.
At Arlotta Stadium earlier this year, Xander Dickson (6g, 1a), Connor Shellenberger (2g, 5a) and Payton Cormier (2g, 2a) combined for 18 points. Shellenberger’s five assists were good for the most by a UND individual opponent in Arlotta Stadium history.
At Klöckner Stadium last year, the Cavaliers defeated Notre Dame, 12-8, on March 26. Both teams finished ACC play with a 5-1 record to earn a share of the 2022 ACC title, however UVA was the only ACC program to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia defeated Notre Dame in the most recent ACC Tournament title game, 10-4, in 2019 at Klöckner Stadium after holding the Irish scoreless for 42:12 of game time.
The last time the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament was in 2012 quarterfinals at Lincoln Financial Field. Both teams were tied 6-6 heading into the fourth quarter before the Irish outscored UVA 6-4 in the final period. Notre Dame attackman and Charlottesville native Max Pfeifer (Western Albemarle HS) recorded his first hat trick of the season. The Irish were eliminated by eventual-champion Loyola in the semifinals.
Notre Dame notes
• The Irish advanced to Championship Weekend for the sixth time in program history with Sunday’s win over Johns Hopkins in Annapolis, Maryland.
• Notre Dame also advanced to the NCAA Championship final weekend in 2001, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 and played in the title game in 2010 and 2014.
• The Irish have now made the NCAA Championship field in 16 of the last 17 tournaments.
• Notre Dame has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship in the 11 of the last 13 NCAA Tournaments.
• Notre Dame is 18-11 over its last 12 NCAA Championship appearances.
• Notre Dame owns a 23-25 record in its 26 trips to the NCAA Championship.
• This is the 14th time overall and 13th time in the last 15 seasons that the Irish have earned one of the eight national seeds for the NCAA Championship.
• The Irish are 9-3 in games played at Arlotta Stadium in NCAA Championships play.
HOOS AT THE LINC
Virginia is 4-1 all-time at Lincoln Financial Field, having played once in 2005, and twice in both 2006 and 2019.
All five games were NCAA Tournament contests.
UVA’s first-ever appearance at Lincoln Financial Field was in 2005 and marks the Cavaliers’ only loss at the venue as Johns Hopkins and Tewaaraton Award winner Kyle Harrison defeated UVA in overtime, 9-8. Matt Ward recorded four goals for the Hoos.
In 2006, UVA claimed its first win at The Linc as Ward, once again, scored four goals and Ben Rubeor added one goal and two assists in the Cavaliers’ 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Virginia went on to win the program’s fourth NCAA Championship that same year in a 15-7 victory over UMass. Shortly thereafter, Ward was named UVA’s second recipient of the Tewaaraton Award.
The Hoos would return to Lincoln Financial Field in 2019 for a semifinals matchup against Duke, winning 13-12 in double overtime. Attackman Michael Kraus led the Hoos with five points, including four assists, and Ian Laviano scored four goals.
Virginia’s most recent appearance, the 2019 title game, saw the Hoos take down Yale to capture the program’s sixth NCAA title. Matt Moore led the Cavaliers with four goals and an assist, while goalkeeper Alex Rode recorded 13 saves.
NINE CAVALIERS NAMED USILA ALL-AMERICANS
Connor Shellenberger (1st), Thomas McConvey (1st), Cade Saustad (1st), Xander Dickson (2nd), Petey LaSalla (3rd), Payton Cormier (HM), Grayson Sallade (HM), Evan Zinn (HM) and Cole Kastner (HM) all earned All-America honors from the USILA, the organization announced May 25.
Virginia’s nine selections led all Division I programs nationally.
Shellenberger became the second player in UVA history to garner first-team honors in three different seasons, joining former UVA defenseman Ken Clausen (2008-09-10).
