Virginia Lacrosse Set to Return Bulk of Starters in 2023

The Cavaliers will bring back 10 starters and over 80% of their scoring next season

Matt Newton | May 28, 2022

Championship Weekend in college lacrosse is upon us and for the first time in four years, Virginia is not one of the final four teams competing for the men's lacrosse national championship.

Last weekend, UVA's season and reign as two-time defending national champions came to an end in a brutal 18-9 loss at the hands of the undefeated and likely championship-bound Maryland Terrapins. As expected of a result as it was, it is still quite unusual for Virginia to lose in the month of May. This was UVA's first loss in the postseason since May 12th, 2018.

Now, Virginia heads into a unique offseason, the first in four years that the Cavaliers will enter having lost their final game of the season.

“It’s definitely going to be driving us,” said sophomore Cole Kastner after Virginia's loss to Maryland on Sunday. “I think this feeling will stick with me and the rest of the guys for a while.”

The Cavaliers will certainly have a chip on their shoulder heading into next season and the good news is that they will also return one of the most experienced and talented rosters in the country. Virginia is set to return over 80% of its scoring from this season and will also bring back essentially its entire defense and starters at the specialty positions.

Of the entire roster, the only players who have exhausted their eligibility are attackman Matt Moore, midfielders Jack Simmons, Jack Peele, Regan Quinn, Paul Rodriguez, and goalkeeper Miles Thompson. Barring any announcements in the offseason of any of the fourth-year seniors deciding not to come back, UVA will return the rest of its roster.

Of course, Matt Moore is a massive loss for the Cavaliers, as the three-time All-American leaves Virginia as the program's all-time leader in points with 277 on 143 goals and 134 assists.

Virginia returns the other two members of its lethal attack unit in Payton Cormier and Connor Shellenberger. Cormier led the team in scoring for the second season in a row with 50 goals. Shellenberger was UVA's leader in points (76) and assists (44) and was second on the team in goals with 32. The 2021 Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament was held without a point in a disappointing performance against Maryland in the quarterfinals, but the redshirt sophomore season was largely a success for Shellenberger, who was named a Tewaaraton finalist and a USILA First-Team All-American for the second-consecutive season.

There are many quality candidates who could move up from the midfield and replace Matt Moore on the UVA attack. Xander Dickson was the team's third-leading scorer with 31 goals and proved to be a solid option at attack when Matt Moore missed time with an injury. The same could be said for Griffin Schutz, the former No. 1 recruit in the class of 2021 who recorded 23 goals and seven assists in his first season in Charlottesville.

UVA also brings back Jeff Conner, who missed time with an injury but was one of Virginia's most valuable players on both ends of the field down the stretch, spending a lot of time at defensive midfield and also tallying 14 goals and 18 assists. Additionally, Virginia returns Peter Garno, Will Cory, and Patrick McIntosh.

Virginia will return essentially its entire defense, including All-American long-stick defenders Cole Kastner and Cade Saustad as well as a third starter in Quentin Matsui and second-line defenders Scott Bower, Mitchell Whalen, and Ben Wayer. With the exception of Jack Peele, UVA will also still have the services of their main short-stick defensive midfielders in All-American Grayson Sallade as well as Evan Zinn, Noah Chizmar, and Danny Parker.

Behind the defense will be the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Matthew Nunes, who finished his first season as a Cavalier with 159 saves, the most saves by a first year goalie in UVA program history.

To that roster, Virginia will add Vermont transfer and two-time USILA All-American Thomas McConvey, who scored 60 goals this season to lead the Catamounts to their second-straight America East Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Virginia also brings in one of the top recruiting classes in the country, including three of the top 10 overall prospects in the class of 2022: No. 3 Joey Terenzi (midfielder), No. 4 Truit Sunderland (attack), and No. 10 Mac Eldridge (faceoff). UVA's 2022 recruiting class also includes five-star defender John Schroter, four-star midfielder Mack Till, four-star attackman Ryan Colsey, four-star defenseman Malachi Jones, and four-star goalkeeper Kyle Morris.

The Cavaliers are certainly disappointed to have not completed the three-peat, but there is plenty to be excited about for Virginia men's lacrosse in 2023.

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