University of Virginia Library

Middies Are Third-Ranked

Lacrosse Team Meets Navy

By JOHN MARKON

"They like to run and run,"
was the way Cavalier lacrosse
boss Glenn Thiel described
third-ranked Navy, Virginia's
opponent in a big Saturday
game at Annapolis.

Thiel's fourth-ranked Cavaliers
have probably also been
doing a little running this week
as the coach led them through
some strenuous practices after
last weekend's 13-8 upset loss
to Johns Hopkins.

"Hopkins was sky-high for
that one," said Mr. Thiel,
adding that fundamentals
provided the focus for the
practices. He described Navy as
another team that "stresses ball
control" and the key to
stopping such an attack is to
clear well and grab a lot of
ground balls, things the Cavs
failed to do against Hopkins.

Top studs for this year's
Navy eleven are high scoring
attackmen Dave Bayly, a
sophomore who will play
behind, and Bob Pell, a senior.
Bill Kortas, a major destructive
force in Navy's 9-6 win over
the Wahoos in last year's
NCAA tourney, will anchor the
first midfield.

Navy has a tradition of
converting muscular fellows
who did not play lacrosse in
high school into top-flight
defensemen and this year's
team is no exception. Crease
defenseman Chuck Voith
might be recognized by some
as the Middies' football captain
and he could be flanked by
two other footballers.

Weak spots in this lineup are
almost non-existent and Mr.
Thiel credited Navy with being
among the best-balanced of
Virginia's opponents. Aside
from Voith, however, he
noted that the defense lacks
experience.

Youth, as a matter of fact,
is also sprinkled liberally
throughout the Mids' three
midfields. It hasn't, however,
deterred them from amassing
an impressive 5-1 record.

Number one-ranked
Maryland is the only team to
have mastered the Midshipmen
so far, turning the trick in
College Park near the beginning
of the season. Back then some
of the young Middies were
playing in their first games and
ever since they haven't stopped
winning.

Cornell, defending NCAA
champion, was first to fall and
then in rapid order came
Harvard, Baltimore University
and improving Washington &
Lee. Last Saturday Navy
humbled the Lexington
Generals, a top ten outfit this
season, 19-8 in W&L's own
backyard.

Despite the unfortunate loss
to Hopkins, the Cavs should be
in pretty good shape against
Navy if they can just possess
the ball enough to get their
offense in gear. Against
Hopkins, the attack line of Jay
Connor, Tom Duquette and
Rick Beach spent most of the
time watching the JHU attack
stall the game away.

Navy won't hold the ball in
the corners as did Hopkins,
but will try to control the
game by running and passing a
lot around the outside and
behind while looking for an
opening. The pressure, then,
will again be on Bruce Mangels,
Boo Smith and Ed Spencer, the
Virginia defense, to get their
teammates the ball.

Attackman Connor still
leads all Cavaliers in scoring
with 46 points (13 goals, 33
assists) and is followed by
Duquette with 33 (18 and 15)
midfielder Pete Eldredge with
30 (23 and 7), and middie
Doug Cooper with 20 (12 and 8).

Scotty Howe will probably
be the starter in goal again this
week and, to be effective, he'll
have to be shielded somehow
by the defense from the
plethora of one-on-one
situations he found himself
confronting against the Blue
Jays.

For both teams the game is
crucial as a second loss to an
NCAA opponent might result
in poor seeding, or no seeding
at all should things continue to
go wrong, in the national
championships. Thiel's
Cavaliers are certainly capable
of winning, and, if they can get
a few ground balls to bounce
their way, they just might.