Virginia Clashes With Maryland in Colossal Championship Rematch
The college lacrosse game of the year is almost here.
No. 1 Maryland vs. No. 2 Virginia. A rematch of last year's National Championship Game. The renewal of a historic rivalry between old ACC foes. The undisputed top two teams in the country, who both come into the game with a perfect 6-0 record on the season.
The Terrapins and Cavaliers meet on Saturday at 3pm as part of the Capitol Lacrosse Tournament, a three-game event at Audi Field in Washington D.C. Here's the full tournament schedule:
Game 1: Catholic vs. Hampden-Sydney, 12 p.m.
Game 2: Maryland vs. Virginia, 3 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Game 3: Duke vs. Towson, 6 p.m.
Both teams bring in an unblemished 6-0 record that includes victories over quality opponents. Virginia has defeated two teams currently ranked in the Inside Lacrosse Top 20 (No. 18 Johns Hopkins and No. 10 North Carolina) and Maryland has three ranked wins (No. 20 Loyola, No. 3 Princeton, and No. 16 Notre Dame). Both squads have victories over High Point and Syracuse this season as well.
A quick glance at the statistics shows just how good these two teams have been through the first six weeks of the season.
| Category (NCAA rank) | Maryland | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
Goals Per Game | 17.5 (1st) | 17.33 (2nd) |
Goals Per Game Allowed | 9.33 (10th) | 10.0 (15th) |
Shooting Percentage | .396 (1st) | .348 (5th) |
Assists Per Game | 10.17 (2nd) | 10.0 (3rd) |
Faceoff % | .645 (4th) | .577 (13th) |
Caused Turnovers Per Game | 10.0 (13th) | 10.33 (10th) |
Ground Balls Per Game | 36.67 (9th) | 41.5 (1st) |
This matchup features some of college lacrosse's brightest stars. Connor Shellenberger, the reigning Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, leads the nation with 4.17 assists per game and is second in the country with 6.67 points per game. He has recorded 40 points on 15 goals and 25 assists through the first six games of the season for the Cavaliers. Logan Wisnauskas is not far behind with 35 points on 20 goals and 15 assists for the Terrapins. Wisnauskas is 7th in the nation averaging 5.83 points per game and scores 3.33 goals per game, the 13th-best mark in the country.
Flanking Shellenberger and Wisnauskas are a number of talented players on both rosters.
For UVA, Payton Cormier has tallied 21 goals this season and is 8th in the NCAA, averaging 3.5 goals per game. The Cavaliers have eight players with at least five goals scored this season, including four players with double-digit goals - Shellenberger and Cormier are joined by Matt Moore (11 goals, 8 assists) and Xander Dickson (13 goals, 4 assists).
For the Terps, Cornell transfer Jonathan Donville is the team's second-leading scorer with 15 goals and five assists. Maryland is even more deep with nine players with at least five goals so far this year. Senior midfielder Kyle Long has tallied seven goals and eight assists through the first six games.
Both teams bring a top-10 faceoff specialist to the battle. Maryland's Luke Wierman is 4th in the NCAA with a .677 faceoff percentage, while Petey LaSalla is 9th in the country at .635 for UVA. LaSalla is known as the most dangerous scorer among the faceoff specialists in the country, but both players are capable of contributing on the offensive end, as LaSalla has recorded five goals and Wierman has four goals and an assist this season.
In the cage, Maryland junior Logan McNaney has a .526 save percentage and allows 8.80 goals per game. Virginia is starting a true freshman in goal in Matthew Nunes, who has impressed through his first six starts with a .549 save percentage and allows 9.45 goals per game.
Maryland leads the all-time series 47-46, but this marks the first regular season meeting between these two historic rivals since Maryland left the ACC for the Big Ten in 2014. In just two meetings since then, the Terrapins and Cavaliers have continued to play some of the most dramatic games on the biggest stages in college lacrosse.
In 2019, Virginia trailed Maryland by five goals in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers scored five straight in the fourth to send the game to overtime, where Matt Moore scored to send the Hoos to Championship Weekend.
And of course - the storyline everyone will be talking about ahead of this game - Virginia and Maryland played in the 2021 National Championship Game on Memorial Day last year. The Cavaliers and Terrapins went back-and-forth all game in an instant classic. Maryland had a chance to send the game into overtime at the last second, but Alex Rode made the game-winning save and Virginia defended its crown, capturing the program's seventh NCAA title.
On Saturday, the Terrapins will look for revenge on the defending champs and the Cavaliers will seek to take back the No. 1 ranking.
No. 2 Virginia takes on No. 1 Maryland on Saturday at 3pm at Audi Field in Washington D.C. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
See more Virginia men's lacrosse news and content: Virginia Men's Lacrosse on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
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