UVA Lacrosse: Five Matchups to Watch Against Ohio State

Aidan Baller | Feb 21, 2025

Virginia Athletics

After a 2-1 homestand to start the season, Virginia men's lacrosse hits the road with three straight road games as the next game at Klockner Stadium isn't until Saturday, March 15th, against Maryland. With a one in the loss column, the Cavaliers will look to prove themselves on the road, beginning this Saturday in Columbus. Here are five matchups you should keep your eye on in Virginia at Ohio State.

No. 9 McCabe Millon vs. No. 44 Bobby Van Buren 

With Connor Shellenberger gone, McCabe Millon will now draw opposing team's number one cover guy with his first test being against Ohio State's Bobby Van Buren. Van Buren, who missed most of 2024 due to injury, was a force in 2023 with 18 groundballs and five caused turnovers his sophomore year. Now, as a healthy senior, Van Buren will look to establish himself as one of the best defenders in the nation. For Millon, he has been relatively quiet this season, serving as the sneaky quarterback with four goals and nine assists. In the loss to Richmond, it was a collective team struggle, making his performance difficult to assess. Now, against the Buckeyes, Millon will get his matchup behind the net and have a chance to show if he can be the party starter the Hoos need him to be in 2025.  

No. 49 John Schroter vs. No. 2 Garrett Haas 

On the opposite side of the ball, John Schroter has filled the shoes of Cole Kastner as Virginia's number-one cover guy. Against Richmond, despite the loss, Schroter dominated his matchup by shutting down Aidan O'Neil, limiting him to only one goal and one assist. This Saturday, the assignment will likely be Garrett Haas, OSU's quarterback, from behind the goal. Haas has ten goals and five assists this season and will be an excellent matchup battle for Schroter with Johns Hopkins star Russell Melendez on the horizon. This season, Schroter has five ground balls and three caused turnovers. 

No. 16 George Fulton vs. No. 5 Alex Marinier 

Alex Marinier has served as the Ohio State goal scorer in 2025, constantly cutting to find himself open for scores. Marinier has an NCAA-leading 19 goals this season and will draw the assignment of George Fulton, an off-ball cover guy for Virginia's defense. Limiting Marinier will disrupt the flow of the Buckeyes offense and will be a matchup to watch.  

No. 32 Anthony Ghobriel and No. 14 Andrew Greenspan Vs. No. 17 Jack Oldman 

The committee of Anthony Ghobriel and Andrew Greenspan dominated against High Point on Tuesday night after a tough showing for Ghobriel on Saturday, finishing 7/16 against the Spiders. Now, with more confidence, the two-headed monster of Greenspan and Ghobriel will face Jack Oldman, who has a 60% faceoff win rate headed into Saturday's contest against the Hoos. 

Virginia Offense vs. No. 18 Caleb Fyock 

Shooting through the first two games of the season hasn't been the biggest strength of the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers scored 19 goals on 69 shots in their opening win over Colgate, with Coach Tiffany expressing a desire to execute better around the goal postgame. Then, the following Saturday, Richmond goalie Zach Vigue posted 14 saves in the Spiders' upset win over Virginia. Shooting has not been a friend of the Cavaliers in 2025, which will not get any easier facing off against Ohio State goalie Caleb Fyock, who boasts a 65.4% save percentage this season. Fyock also posted a career-high 17 saves last year against Virginia. If the Cavs can shoot clinically against Fyock, it will go a long way toward boosting the confidence of the Virginia shooters moving forward. 

Virginia (2-1) is set to take on Ohio State (4-1) on Saturday at 12pm ET at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The game will be streamed on Big Ten+ with a paid subscription required.

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