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16 CAVALIER CORNER BY BRAD FRANKLIN A FTER COMING FROM BEHIND late in games time and time again this season — including in both the quarterfinals and semifinals of the NCAA Tournament — UVA trailed for just 1:39 during the title game on Memorial Day, led by as many as seven goals and beat defending champion Yale 13-9 to win the national championship for the first time since 2011. Led by second-year attack Matt Moore, who scored four goals and assisted on an- other, and second-year goalkeeper Alex Rode, who racked up 13 saves and was named the event's Most Outstanding Player, the Wahoos held Yale — the second-best scoring team in the country — to a season-low output just two days after it scored 21 against Penn State to advance to the title game. The win gave UVA its sixth NCAA title in the sport and the 27th in school history. It also made Virginia the first school since 2010 (Duke) and only the third ever to win both the men's basketball and men's la- crosse championship in the same year (UNC also did it in 1982). In addition, this makes the 2018-19 ac- ademic year the fourth in school history when the athletics department won multiple national titles, joining 1992-93 (men's soc- cer and women's lacrosse), 2009-10 (men's soccer and women's rowing) and 2014-15 (men's soccer, men's tennis and baseball). "First of all, I'm very grateful to [former UVA head coach] Dom Starsia. The men that I have coached in my first three years for the most part were recruited by Dom," head coach Lars Tiffany said after winning his first title. "The reason I'm a coach is because of Dom Starsia, having played for him at Brown University in the late '80s. "… Today as we sit here national cham- pions, I continue to owe so much to him because I'm coaching for the most part men he recruited. Dom knows how to find talent, but he also knows how to find people with the right hearts and people who are going to do the right things. We've made a lot of good decisions here in year three off the field and certainly on the field, as you saw today. "I'm humbled and incredibly grateful for Dom Starsia in my life." Though the Hoos (17-3) won just six of 25 faceoffs, they forced Yale into 20 turn- overs and first-year faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla scored off two wins. On the way to MOP honors, Rode was incredible. He had 32 saves across the championship weekend while giving up just 20 goals. "Fantastic, fantastic performance by Alex Rode," Tiffany said. "Early on Yale found some openings and our defense was still getting settled in, trying to figure out who Yale is. With one day to prepare for a team and not a lot of film to watch, it's a difficult scout for both teams. Alex made big saves early, when we made mistakes, when there were openings. "That allowed our defense to grow more comfortable. [Redshirt fourth-year] Logan Greco, [first-year] Cade Saustad, [second- year] Kyle Kology, what they did in the close defense and the decision making as the game rolled on … When Yale would MAGICAL RIDE UVA Men's Lacrosse Caps Thrilling Season With Its Sixth National Title "I'm just grateful that I get to be with these fantastic men, and I'm with these men because of [former UVA head coach] Dom Starsia. It's been a magical ride." UVA HEAD COACH LARS TIFFANY