University of Virginia Library

Edges Cornell, 10-9

Cavaliers Up Lacrosse Mark To 4-0

By Jim Wilson
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Virginia Midfielder Doug Cooper Unleashes Shot Toward Cornell Goalie In April 1 Contest.

Big Red Comeback Fell Just Short As Cavaliers Fought Off Seven-Goal Surge To Win 10-9.

Virginia's claim to a second
National Lacrosse Championship
was further substantiated by
victories in the past two weeks over
Denison, North Carolina, and
national power Cornell. The
Cavaliers crushed Denison and the
Tar Heels while they had to rally to
beat Cornell.

With the big build-up that the
Cornell game got, until the third
period it was much the same as the
other two the Cavaliers played
during the week, with the Wahoos
ahead at one by the score of 8-1.
From this point on the game was
totally dominated by the Big Red.
Cornell outscored the Cavaliers
during the next twenty-five
minutes. If it had not been for two
clutch goals by Jay Connor and
Tom Duquette in the last period,
Cornell would have won.

The first 35 minutes of the game
were clearly dominated by the
Virginia team. Led by Doug
Cooper's (a first-year middle) three
first-half goals, the Cavaliers looked
as though they might make the
game a runaway. They got more
than their share of ground balls,
picked well in the Cornell zone, and
the defense held Cornell's
highly-touted attack in check. Then
for some reason Virginia's
domination fell apart early in the
third period.

For more than twenty minutes
of playing time the Cavaliers did
not score while Cornell attackmen
Alan Rimmer was scorings if it was
going out of style. The Cornell
offense, which had been the
spread-out, one-on-one type played
by the Long Island clubs during the
first half of play, shifted to the
Baltimore pick-and-cut type played
by the teams in and south of
Baltimore in the second half. The
Big Red laid siege to the Virginia
goal and that is the way you win
lacrosse games.

By using this pick-and-cut
offense, controlling the ground ball,
and by playing smart lacrosse
Cornell tied the game at eight-all in
th last period. This stirred the
Virginia team into activity. Jay
Conner broke Virginia's scoring
freeze by taking a great feed and
shooting the ball in the net. This
brought a lot of relief to the
Virginia spectators but Rimmer's
sixth goal soon afterwards tied the
game again to the great pleasure of
the large contingent of Cornell
rooters.

Then with time becoming more
of a factor in the game, Tom
Duquette stole the ball from a
Cornell defenseman who was trying
to clear the ball, and scored
unassisted in a great individual
effort. This effort gave Virginia the
lead, and after the clock was run
out, the game.

"We need to beat North
Carolina and Denison to be in the
running for national honors this
year," Coach Glenn Thiel said a few
weeks ago. Virginia slaughtered the
Tar Heels and the Big Red and the
Cavaliers' claim to the title is all the
more secure.

In the Cavaliers ACC opener,
Conner, Duquette and company
thrashed young Carolina team 14-2.
After building up a 8-1 halftime
score, the Cavaliers kept up the
pressure and scored six more goals.

Against Denison the Wahoos'
effort was not as consistent, but
with a seven-goal first period it did
not have to be. With the numerous
substitutions there were good
reasons for the scoring output to
continue to be as great. En route to
a 13-4 victory, the attack almost
single-handedly destroyed the Big
Red's hopes. Led by Beach's four
goals and Conner's six assists the
attack compiled 16 points in the
game.

This type of performance is
well-illustrated in the total team
statistics to date. Jay Conner is
currently the team leader with 15
goals and 27 points. Tom Duquette
is second with 10 goals and 20
points. The other members of the
lacrosse team with a double digit
output are attackmen Rick Beack
(14) and middies Pete Eldredge
(15) and Doug Cooper (12).

This coming weekend the
Cavaliers will meet the ever
powerful Johns Hopkins squad in
historic Homewood Field.

Cavalier Third-Sacker Dave Bratt Advances To Third Base Against Maine University.

Late-Inning Virginia Uprising Cost The Mainemen A Chance To Topple Unscarred Batmen.