Virginia Picks Up Commitment From Binghamton Faceoff Transfer Matthew DeSouza

A graduate transfer from Oakton, Virginia, DeSouza ranked in the top 10 nationally in faceoff winning percentage in 2023

Binghamton Athletics

Meet the new faceoff man for the UVA men's lacrosse program: Matthew DeSouza. 

A graduate transfer from Binghamton, DeSouza will reportedly play his final season of college lacrosse at Virginia, where he will provide much-needed reinforcement to a depleted faceoff unit. The news was first reported by Ty Xanders of Inside Lacrosse on Friday afternoon. 

Former @BinghamtonMLAX face-off specialist Matthew DeSouza is headed to @UVAMensLax as a grad transfer, he tells @Inside_Lacrosse. The Oakton, Va. native finished the year ranked 9th in the country in FO win percentage (61.7%) and was named Second Team All-America East.

— Ty Xanders (@tyxanders) June 16, 2023

It was common knowledge that Lars Tiffany and the Cavaliers would be on the prowl for an experienced faceoff specialist in the transfer portal after losing both Petey LaSalla and Mac Eldridge at the end of the season. LaSalla, who ended his collegiate career as UVA's all-time record holder in faceoff wins and the NCAA's all-time leader in faceoffs taken, is now in the Premier Lacrosse League making a nice rookie campaign for himself with the Whipsnakes. Eldridge, meanwhile, was one of the first entrants into the transfer portal back in early May and ended up transferring to Penn. The former No. 1 faceoff recruit in the class of 2022 spent just one season at Virginia before heading to the Ivy League. 

That left Gable Braun as the only FOGO remaining on the UVA roster. Braun played a significant role in his sophomore season in 2022 as the backup to LaSalla, but missed the entire the 2023 season with an injury. With no faceoff commit in their 2023 recruiting class, the Cavaliers were bound to make a splash in the transfer portal at that position. 

Sure enough, Virginia went and secured a commitment from Matthew DeSouza, who has played in 36 games and taken nearly 600 faceoff draws in his collegiate career. DeSouza had his best season as a senior in 2023, winning 137 faceoffs at a percentage of 61.7%, 9th-best in all of college lacrosse. He set Binghamton's single-season record for faceoff win percentage and leaves the program as the Bearcats' career leader in faceoff win percentage at 57.8%. His 332 career faceoff wins ranks third in program history. DeSouza tallied four points on three goals and an assist as part of a strong senior campaign that garnered him an America East Second Team All-Conference selection. He also earned a selection to the America East All-Academic Team for the second year in a row after notching a 3.84 GPA this spring. 

The transfer to UVA returns DeSouza to his home state of Virginia, as he attended Oakton High School in Oakton, Virginia. UVA lost its all-time faceoff leader, but replaces him with a Virginia native who is a two-time all-academic selection who ranked in the top 10 nationally in faceoff percentage last season - that seems like a pretty good fit. 

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