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20 CAVALIER CORNER BY PATRICK BOLING R egardless of the sport, it's rare for a team to lose its all-time leading point scorer, and nonetheless be regarded as a legitimate national championship con- tender. However, that's exactly the expecta- tion that's been thrust upon head coach Lars Tiffany and his 2023 Virginia men's lacrosse team. Although the Cavaliers do not return for- mer captain and the program's all-time lead- ing scorer Matt Moore, they do welcome back seven 2022 USILA All-Americans this season. Heading that list is two-time first-team All-America selection Connor Shellenberger, the team's leading scorer and assist man in 2021 (37 goals, 42 assists) and 2022 (32 goals, 44 assists). He is joined on attack by fourth-year Payton Cormier (honorable mention All-American), a prolific scorer from Canada who has notched 95 goals in the past two seasons. Two-way midfielder Jeff Conner, another honorable mention pick, had 14 goals and 18 assists a year ago. Graduate student face-off specialist and midfielder Petey LaSalla (a third-team All- American in 2022) enters his final campaign as UVA's career and single-season record holder for faceoff wins and ground balls. The UVA defense will be led by third-year close defenseman Cole Kastner (a second- team All-American), fifth-year defenseman Cade Saustad and graduate student short- stick defensive midfielder Grayson Sallade, both honorable mention picks last season. Virginia's chemistry on the field may be at an all-time high this season given the fact that nine of its 10 starters — all except for Moore — return in 2023. In addition to the likes of Shellenberger, who was a Tewaaraton Award finalist in 2022, and the Cavaliers' six other All-Americans, UVA sec- ond-year netminder Matthew Nunes returns to anchor the defense. Nunes, who was voted the ACC's Freshman of the Year by the league's head coaches, recorded a UVA first-year record of 159 saves last season. Adding to the hype, Tiffany and his staff inked the nation's No. 1 recruiting class, which began training with the team in the fall. The cherry on top came in the winter, when Tiffany landed an unconventional graduate transfer from the Stanford football team — starting inside linebacker Ricky Mie- zan, a highly touted lacrosse prospect during his prep days at Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal School. Despite having not played organized lacrosse since high school, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Miezan hopes to make an im- mediate impact as an offensive midfielder. UVA also added midfielder Thomas McCo- nvey as a graduate transfer from Vermont. He was the America East Offensive Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American after a school-record 60 goals in 2022. Virginia's wealth of returning talent as well as its influx of new blood is why the Hoos were recently tabbed as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation by Inside Lacrosse. "We're as loaded as we've [ever] been on paper, but we've got to get it done on the field," Tiffany said. While the season outlook for Virginia fans seems promising, the Cavaliers will have their work cut out for them in 2023. Not only does Virginia's schedule consist of six hyper- competitive ACC league games, but it also features matchups with four 2022 NCAA Tournament teams in non-conference ac- tion during the first half of the season. Of those NCAA Tournament teams, perhaps none are more daunting than the reigning national champion Maryland Ter- rapins (March 18), who defeated UVA twice last season, including a knockout finish of the Cavaliers in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Virginia also hosts Harvard (Feb. 18) and Richmond (March 4), which bookend a neutral-site meeting against Ohio State (Feb. 25) in Naples, Fla. "The Virginia fan base will not see a fa- miliar slate of opponents to open the 2023 season. With the addition of two [new] Big Ten opponents [Ohio State and Michigan] and an Ivy, we have boosted what is already a challenging schedule," Tiffany said. The NCAA Championship weekend returns to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 27-29 for the first time since Tif- fany and the Cavaliers won their sixth NCAA championship in 2019. "We talk of 'pressure is a privilege,'" Tiffany said. "How wonderful it is that we pursue together as a team an objective, a national championship. We pursue a level of achieve- ment that other people care about. It's some- thing that matters to a lot of people." Great Expectations Await The Cavaliers In 2023 2023 SEASON PREVIEW MEN'S LACROSSE Connor Shellenberger, a two-time first-team All-American, returns to quarterback the Virginia attack. He has racked up 155 points on 69 goals and 86 assists in the past two seasons. (Photo by Matt Riley/courtesy UVA)