ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605280131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
THE CAVALIERS beat Johns Hopkins to advance to the NCAA championship for the first time since 1972.
Virginia lacrosse player Doug Knight, supposedly hampered by a separated shoulder, isn't doing much for his coach's credibility.
Knight had eight points Saturday, including a career-high five assists, as the Cavaliers defeated Johns Hopkins 16-10 in the Division I semifinals at Byrd Stadium.
Third-seeded UVa (12-3) will bid for its first NCAA men's lacrosse championship since 1972 when it meets No. 1 Princeton (13-1) at 11 a.m. Monday. The Tigers advanced with an 11-9 victory over defending champion Syracuse.
``There definitely is some sense of relief ahead for Virginia once it wins another one,'' said Dom Starsia, in his fourth year as the UVa coach. ``We feel for all the old Wahoos who have been waiting for such a long time.''
Starsia sensed some nervousness in his team when it fell behind 4-3 in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers responded with four unanswered goals, the last after fighting off a two-man Johns Hopkins advantage.
``We thought we had the pace we wanted,'' said Hopkins coach Tony Seaman, whose Blue Jays fell to Virginia 14-9 in the regular season. ``We knew we couldn't get behind - or at least we couldn't get way behind.''
It marked the first time Virginia has beaten Hopkins twice in the same season. The Cavaliers did it in their customary fashion, with much production from attackmen Knight, Michael Watson and Tim Whiteley.
Watson had four goals and one assist, and Whiteley had two goals and three assists in setting a school record with 241 points for his career. Kevin Pehlke held the record of 239, set between 1990-93.
Knight also broke a couple of UVa season records - for goals (55) and points (83) despite an injured left shoulder that isn't supposed to be 100 percent until July. At least that's Starsia's prognosis.
``It sounds lame, I know,'' said Starsia after the game, grinning as he shrugged his shoulders. ``But, the kid's not perfect. He's got some extra tape and pads under all that equipment.''
Knight showed little regard for his body, once flying over the crease for what would have been a spectacular goal if it had not been disallowed. His only apparent physical problem was the dehydration that left him unable to provide the sample required for an NCAA drug test.
Johns Hopkins opened in a zone defense, allegedly the Achilles' heel of the Cavaliers, but it was the Blue Jays' face-off success that contributed more to the slow early pace. Hopkins frequently held the ball for a minute or more between shots.
``We catch a lot of flak about not being able to play against a zone,'' Starsia said. ``With players like Whiteley and Watson and Knight and [David] Wren and [David] Curry, I guess I couldn't screw it up that badly.''
UVa sophomore goalie Chris Sanderson overcame a slow start with some big second-quarter saves, none bigger than when he cut down the angle on Johns Hopkins attackman Billy Evans when the Blue Jays were playing 6-on-4.
The Blue Jays, hoping to cut a 6-4 deficit, instead found themselves down 7-4 when Watson scored with 30 seconds left in the half on a feed from Whiteley. It was UVa's third goal in a span of 4:08.
The Cavaliers enjoyed a second 4-0 run to go ahead 11-5 in the third quarter and were soon able to turn their attention to Princeton, which defeated the Cavaliers 9-8 in the 1994 championship game at Byrd Stadium.
Virginia has won its two subsequent meetings with the Tigers, including a 12-9 decision in early March in Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers jumped to a 10-0 lead. Princeton has not lost in its past 12 games.
The Tigers led 7-1 on Saturday before Syracuse came back to force a 9-9 tie after three quarters. Princeton coach Bill Tierney changed goalies at that point, bringing in Pancho Gutstein, as he did in the early season game against Virginia.
``Everybody thinks Princeton is out for revenge,'' Whiteley said. ``But Hopkins is the team that knocked us out my first year, and Princeton is the team that knocked me out my second year. I'm out for some revenge myself.''
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Virginia's Tim Whiteley (left) scores againstby CNBJohns Hopkins defenders Paul LeSueur (center) and Kevin Kaiser.
color. 2. Virginia's Chris Ginter (right) uses his stick to slow
Johns Hopkins' Werner Krueger during the NCAA Division I semifinal
game in College Park, Md., on Saturday. The Cavaliers advanced to
Monday's final against Princeton with a 16-10 victory. UVa was last
in the title game in 1972.