The Cavalier daily :: Thursday, May 3, 1973 :: University of Virginia Library

SATURDAY IS VIRGINIA'S LAST CHANCE. With every
other ACC championship decided, the Cavalier lacrosse team
will make one final grab at something that 11 other variety
teams have failed to bring back–a conference title.

For this desperate undertaking, fate couldn't have chosen a
better candidate. At the moment, the stickmen are appearing
in the number-three spot in the USILA rankings with a 9-1
record. Besides that, they are the reigning NCAA champions.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE ALSO UNDERDOGS.
Since dropping a 10-9 decision to the Cavs in the Hero's
Invitational in March, the second-ranked Maryland Terrapins,
who will show up on the other side of Scott Stadium
Saturday, have been trampling anybody who dares to take the
field with them. The nationally ranked teams of UNC, Navy.
Army and W&L can be found on the list of those who failed to
give the Terps a contest.

To make things worse for the Wahoos, they will have to
play their guests under the regular NCAA rules, instead of the
modified format that characterized the Hero's affair.
Specifically, this means that there will be face-offs after every
goal, and according to lacrosse coach Glenn Thiel, two of the
top face-off-artists in the land are suiting up for the Terps.
Fifteen-minute quarters will replaced the Hero's 12-minute
quarters, a factor that could also work against the Cavs.
Maryland mentor Bob Beardmore has "five good midfields,"
according to Mr. Thiel, and can be counted upon to run all of
them in an effort to wilt the Cavs by the fourth period.

"THEY COULD BLOW US OFF THE FIELD," SAYS MR.
THIEL with the usual coaches' pessimism. "If we win, it'll
probably be close." But despite downgrading his team's
chances in Saturday's brawl, Mr. Thiel claims to be "very
much" satisfied with his squad's performance to date,
especially with the attack, an area that was slightly suspect at
the start of the season. Ex-pineliner Rick Bergland and Barry
Robertson, a fourth-year man playing his first year on the
varsity, have more than amply filled out the offensive unit
depleted by the losses of Jay Connor and Chip Barker.

Overall, this year's edition plays a little more as a team
than last year's NCAA champions. "We don't have the super
one-on-one players that we had last season. We have more
guys that can do some things instead of one guy like Pete
Eldredge whom we look to do everything," explains Mr. Thiel.

MORE THAN THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIP will be on the
line in the Maryland game. There've been some ugly rumors
flying around that the Cavs will have to win at least one of
their next two games with the Terps and Washington and Lee
to make a return appearance in the NCAA tournament.
According to Mr. Thiel, they may be true.

The NCAA selection committee, which decides such
matters, takes the top two teams from the North and the top
two from the South. These four are then seeded and the
remaining four squads are selected regardless of section.

VYING WITH THE CAVALIERS FOR THE SOUTHERN
BERTHS are Johns Hopkins, Maryland and W&L. With the
loss to Hopkins already staining their record, another win over
Maryland Saturday is almost essential if the Cavs are to have
the home-field advantage in the first round. With a loss, only
the sudden appearance of a rock concert or a Billy Graham
Crusade at the opposition's field could bring the game to Scott
Stadium.

A loss would also mean that the stickmen would have to
bring down seventh-ranked W&L to assure themselves of a
tourney bld. While the task of beating the Generals may not
inspire fear in many Wahoos, it should be noted that the Cavs
had to stage a near-miracle rally last year to pull out a 10-9
win. Virginia is the only top team W&L regularly has on its
schedule; for the Generals this will be the game of the year.

IN THE NORTH, ARMY, NAVY, BROWN, Hofstra and
Rutgers are locked in a brawl for the tourney berths. Hofstra,
with its 10-9 overtime decision over the Midshipmen appears
to have the inside track for one berth. The Army-Navy
get-together shapes up as a battle likely to determine the other
see, although neither team has exactly distinguished itself this
year.

Right now, I'd say the Cavs chances of pulling off a repeat
of Cornell's flop of last year aren't very good. Even with losses
(heavenforbid) in the next two games, they still should be
strong contenders for an at-large berth. The northern teams
haven't been higher than fourth in the polls all year, and the
Hero's tourney championship, though it's not supposed to
count in the selection, should be worth something in the
minds of the judges. Even if they are the last team chosen,
nobody will take the Cavs lightly. As last year's squad showed,
the NCAA is the only thing that makes a difference in the end.