University of Virginia Library

Strike Three

Lax
Power

With Steve Gaske

OVER THE WEEKEND THE LACROSSE TEAM PULLED
OFF A COUPLE OF UPSETS to defend its title in the Hero's
Invitational Tournament. After a generally predictable 16-7
win over Brown in the first round, the Hoos met Carling in
the semi-finals. Considered the best club team in the nation
and featuring four ex-All-Americans from Virginia, including
all-time scoring leader Jay Connor, Carling was the odds-on
favorite to give defending national collegiate champion
Virginia a berth in the consolation game Sunday.

With an amazingly tough defense and surprising play by the
offense, Virginia held a slim lead through much of the game
and was able to stay even with the Baltimore Beer team
through regulation time before shocking everyone, including
themselves, with a 6-5 win on Rick Bergland's goal in sudden
death overtime.

IN THE FINALS AGAINST MARYLAND, the number
one college team in the nation, the 'Hoos jumped out to an
early 4-0 lead and held on for a 10-9 win. The hero for
Virginia in that game and the MVP for the tournament was
second-year goalie Rodney Rullman. With 22 saves, many off
his body (at one point in the third quarter the game was
stopped because the ball lodged in his face mask on a shot)
Rullman amazed the crowd leaving no doubt that he was the
most valuable player in the game and the major reason for
Virginia's win.

In the latest rankings released today, Virginia has moved up
from number three to number two behind Johns Hopkins. The
Baltimore Sun rankings have the two teams even while the
U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association rankings have the
Blue Jays first by one point in balloting by the coaches.
Although tournament play is not supposed to count in the
rankings it does and consequently Maryland has dropped to
third.

LAST YEAR THE 'HOOS WENT INTO THE HERO'S
TOURNAMENT AS UNDERDOGS and won, defeating the
highly touted Long Island Lacrosse Club, 11-8, in the finals.
As a result of that win, Virginia was ranked the top collegiate
team in the country. This year, despite beating what was
considered the number one club team and then the number
one college team in the country on consecutive days the
'Hoos are still ranked behind Hopkins, a team that disdains
regular season tournaments on the theory that they can only
hurt a highly ranked team. While the tournament was going on
the Blue Jays were thrashing Yale, 22-4, across the city at
Homewood.

With Virginia once again ranked as one of the elite teams in
the nation, a good case could be made for Coach Glenn Thiel
being one of the most successful college coaches of all time in
any sport. In his first year as lacrosse boss the 'Hoos were
consensus national champions. The following year his team
was ranked number one but lost in the NCAA Tournament in
the first year that a tournament was used to determine the
national champion. Last year Virginia had one of the most
talented teams in the country and defeated Johns Hopkins for
the national championship.

WITH HIS TEAM DEPLETED BY GRADUATION Mr.
Thiel's chances of repeating as coach of a national champion
this year looked dim. I would have to say that they are pretty
good right now. If Virginia can go through the NCAA's like it
did through the Hero's it would take a really clutch team to
beat the 'Hoos in a close pressure game. With an experienced
defense, something which was lacking last year, and one of the
best mid-fields in the country Virginia was expected to be
right up with the best teams in the nation.

What was suspect was the attack, however. Maryland had
the same problem on paper, but as the Tournament showed,
any concern about the ability of Virginia's attack was
unwarranted. Returning All-American Tom Duquette is the
mainstay of the attack with one of the best moves to the goal
of any attackman in the country. The reason for the success of
the attack this year has been the play of Rick Bergland. A
fourth-year man, Bergland hadn't seen too much action until
this year and was considered a possible weak link in the attack.
In the tournament, Bergland have seven goals and two assists
in three games, including the overtime goal against Carling and
a blind over-the-shoulder shot against Maryland.

CREASE ATTACK STILL ISN'T WHAT IT COULD BE
BUT, maybe that's because one can't help wondering what it
would be like with Chip Barker in there. John Eppler and Al
Sadtler have been more than adequate but, Barker was one of
the best crease attackmen in the country as a second-year man
last year and fortunately he's probably coming back next year
after a year's leave of absence.

Talking about what would be nice doesn't mean much,
however, and what is evident is that the team we have right
now is capable of winning the national championship again.
With a great mid-field and a tough defense anchored by Bruce
Mangels, the best crease defenseman in the country, and
Rullman who has emerged as possibly one of the best goalies
in the country, it looks like another very good year for Mr.
Thiel's Lacrosse Power.