Can the Hoos Three-Peat? Virginia Men’s Lacrosse 2022 Season Preview

The Cavaliers look to capture their third-straight national title

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Feb 4, 2022 1:54 PM EST

On Saturday, the Virginia men’s lacrosse team begins its campaign to make history. The preseason No. 1-ranked Cavaliers begin the 2022 season with their sights set on becoming the first men’s lacrosse program to win three-straight national championships since the 1996-1998 Princeton Tigers.

Ahead of UVA’s season-opener on Saturday against Air Force, here’s a breakdown of the 2022 Virginia men’s lacrosse roster and schedule.

2022 Virginia Men’s Lacrosse Roster

Attack

Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse, 2021 National Championship — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Virginia’s attack unit is arguably the most talented trio in the country. All together, Connor Shellenberger, Matt Moore, and Payton Cormier combined to record 115 goals, 84 assists, and 199 total points in 2021.

Connor Shellenberger

Shellenberger is coming off of an outstanding redshirt freshman season that saw him break the UVA record for points in a single NCAA Tournament with 24 (14 goals and 10 assists). He recorded four goals and two assists in the title game against Maryland and was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The Charlottesville native had 37 goals and 42 assists (79 points) and was a USA Lacrosse First-Team All-American in his first season of collegiate lacrosse. The sky's the limit for Shellenberger, who enters the 2022 season as a preseason First-Team All-American and an early favorite to win the Tewaaraton Trophy.

Matt Moore

Returning for a fifth season is Matt Moore, who is one of five Cavaliers all-time to have at least 100 goals and 100 assists in his career. Moore had 33 goals and 34 assists (67 points) in 2021 and tallied four goals and two assists against Maryland to win his second national title with UVA last May. Moore was a USILA Third-Team All-American in 2021 and is an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Second-Team All-American coming into his fifth and final season at Virginia.

Payton Cormier

The third member of the UVA attack unit is perhaps the most talented as a pure goal scorer. Payton Cormier led the Cavaliers in goals in 2021 with 45, which was also the fifth-most goals scored by any player in the country last season. The Ontario native scored multiple goals in 14 of Virginia’s 18 games, including eight hat tricks. Cormier, a USILA All-American honorable mention in 2021, will be expected to step up even more this season to help replace the production of Ian Laviano from a finishing perspective.

Midfield

Petey LaSalla, Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Virginia suffered some serious losses to its midfield unit from the 2021 National Championship team. Dox Aitken, who holds the UVA midfielder records for career points (176) and goals (138) by a wide margin, and Charlie Bertrand, who was an important contributor in the championship run as a transfer, have both moved on to the Premier Lacrosse League. On the defensive side of the midfield, the Cavaliers will sorely miss the 2021 Midfielder of the Year, Jared Connors, and one of the best short-stick defensive midfielders in the country, John Fox.

Grayson Sallade, Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Even with these losses, Virginia is as deep in the midfield position as any team in the country. Beginning with the defensive side, Grayson Sallade was named a Preseason Third-Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse at the short-stick defensive midfield position after causing 13 turnovers and collecting 54 ground balls last season. Virginia also has a number of long, athletic, and rangy long-stick defenders who will attempt to replace the midfield production of Jared Conners by committee. We’ll have more on the long-poles later.

On the offensive side of the midfield, Lars Tiffany has an embarrassment of riches. The UVA head coach noted this week that it will be challenging to distribute adequate amounts of playing time to the players who have earned the opportunity, since there are so many talented athletes on the roster who deserve to see the field. In addition to the three outstanding attackmen, at any given point in the game, UVA’s offense will also be running three midfielders who could very well be quality starting attackmen on other teams.

Jeff Conner, Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Senior Jeff Conner returns after totaling 14 goals and eight assists in 2021, including an impressive performance in the national championship, scoring three goals and an assist to help the Cavaliers get past the Terrapins. Redshirt junior Xander Dickson progressed very well through the fall after recording 10 goals and 10 assists last season. Junior Peter Garno might have the fastest shot on the team and he showed it to the tune of 22 goals in 2021.

Griffin Schutz, Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse — Photo courtesy of Rich Barnes

Virginia also added the No. 1 overall recruit in the high school class of 2021 in Griffin Schutz, who has the size (6’3, 220 pounds) and skills to make an impact on day one. Additionally, junior Will Cory, senior Jack Simmons, and freshman Thomas Mencke all played extremely well in the USA Lacrosse Fall Classic in October, as the Cavaliers nearly stunned Team USA, losing by just one goal.

UVA returns one of the best faceoff specialists in the country in Petey LaSalla. He was tops in the country last season with 277 faceoff wins, which also set the Virginia single-season record. LaSalla was No. 12 in the nation with a 62.4% faceoff percentage and was a Second-Team All-American. This season, LaSalla returns to the X as a preseason All-ACC and All-American performer, ready to give Virginia an edge in the possession game and give the ball to the dangerous offense.

Defense

Cade Saustad, Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

In addition to Jared Connors, Virginia loses the leader of last year’s defense in Kyle Kology as well as goalie Alex Rode, who was the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2019 and made the championship-winning save at the last second against Maryland in 2021. Lars Tiffany tried his best to convince Rode to come back for another season, but Rode ultimately decided to go to the Premier Lacrosse League, joining the Atlas. Freshman Matthew Nunes has been pegged as Rode’s successor. Nunes was the No. 1-ranked goalie and No. 5 overall recruit in the incoming freshmen recruiting class after a decorated career at The Woodlands High School in Texas.

In front of Nunes will be an experienced and athletic defensive unit, led by preseason All-American Cade Saustad, who was a selection to both the USILA All-American and NCAA All-Tournament teams. Saustad is joined by Scott Bower, Quentin Matsui, Cole Kastner, and Ben Wayer, who will do their best to try and make things a little easier for the freshman netminder Nunes.

Virginia certainly lost a great deal of talent from last year’s championship team and there are many opportunities for new faces to step up and make a difference. With a core of great players with championship-winning experience and a deep supporting cast in all phases of the game, Virginia has a quality shot at winning back-to-back-to-back national titles.

Now, let’s see the schedule.

2022 Virginia Men's Lacrosse Schedule

2022 Virginia Men's Lacrosse Schedule
Date	Opponent	Location
Feb. 5	Air Force	Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 13	High Point	Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 19	at Towson	Towson, MD
Feb. 26	Syracuse	Charlottesville, VA
Mar. 5	Johns Hopkins	Charlottesville, VA
Mar. 10	at North Carolina	Chapel Hill, NC
Mar. 19	at Maryland	TBA
Mar. 26	Notre Dame	Charlottesville, VA
Apr. 2	at Richmond	Richmond, VA
Apr. 9	North Carolina	Charlottesville, VA
Apr. 14	at Duke	Durham, NC
Apr. 16	Quinnipiac	Charlottesville, VA
Apr. 23	at Syracuse	Syracuse, NY
Apr. 28	Lafayette	Charlottesville, VA

Virginia will play a 14-game regular season slate, including eight home games and six road games.

UVA will host the following teams at Klockner Stadium: Air Force, High Point, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Quinnipiac, and Lafayette. Virginia will play at Towson, North Carolina, Richmond, Duke, and Syracuse.

The Cavaliers are also scheduled to play a rematch of the 2021 National Championship against No. 2 Maryland on March 19th. The location of the game has yet to be finalized, but it will take place at either Audi Field in Washington D.C. or at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium in College Park.

For the second year in a row, there will be no ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers are scheduled to play six games against ACC opponents in the regular season. UVA will host Syracuse, Notre Dame, and North Carolina and the Hoos will play at North Carolina, at Duke, and at Syracuse.

Virginia begins its season on Saturday at 1pm against Air Force at Klockner Stadium.