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18 CAVALIER CORNER BY PATRICK BOLING L ike many people around the world during the coronavirus pandemic, Xander Dickson had plenty of time on his hands. Plenty of time to do chores around the house, plenty of time to get outside, plenty of time to pick up a new hobby and plenty of time to think. Perhaps too much time to think. After COVID-19 forced the shutdown of the 2020 season and all the activities that come along with it such as practice, team meetings and get-togethers and games, Dickson de- cided to enlist in the NCAA transfer portal. "Those were some dark days," recalled UVA head coach Lars Tiffany of Dickson's decision to look for playing time elsewhere. The cancellation of the 2020 season ulti- mately led to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to those student-athletes who did get a chance to finish out the season. That list included UVA star attackmen Matt Moore and Ian Laviano, the Cavaliers' top two goal- scorers amid the program's 2019 champion- ship run. A potential extra season for Moore and Laviano was great news for Virginia, but not-so-great news for Dickson personally, who was eager to step into the fold as a full-time attackman having waited in the wings as a midfielder for a season and half. "That was daunting at the time because I got the call Matt Moore and Ian Laviano were coming back," Dickson said. "They were some of my best buddies and I was happy for them, but I can't out-compete these guys, these guys are really good players." One of the nation's top prospects in high school, Dickson fielded calls from prospec- tive college coaches, but Tiffany and his staff continued to try to convince Dickson to stay. "We've said it's OK to jump in there [the portal] and see if the grass is greener on the other side, kick some tires and that's OK, and you can come back," Tiffany said. Fortunately for the Cavaliers and Dickson, the Greenwich, Conn., native chose to return to Grounds for the 2021 season, despite the presence of his star-studded compan- ions Moore and Laviano. The end result: the program's seventh NCAA title and second in as many tries for Dickson and a few of his fellow teammates. However, the 2021 season also saw the emergence of Connor Shellenberger, who was crowned a USILA first-team All-American and the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in his first season at UVA. Shellen- berger, who like Dickson initially played mid- field for the Cavaliers in 2021, was simply too talented and too valuable to take shifts out of the substitution box. This meant Dickson was stuck at midfield for yet another season. But Dickson's role in the Cavaliers' of- fense increased substantially in 2022. After combining for 39 points in his first two seasons at UVA, Dickson tied that mark in 2022 alone with 31 goals and eight assists. His 39 points led all Cavalier midfielders, and he finished third on the team in goals, just one shy of tying Shellenberger. Enter 2023. When Moore had finally exhausted his last year of eligibility in 2022, and did so as the program's all-time points leader, there was a glaring hole for the Cavaliers to fill. Tiffany had indicated during the offseason that role was likely to be filled by Griffin Schutz, a stout downhill dodger who was also the nation's No. 1 recruit and showed a lot of promise throughout his freshman campaign. After test driving Schutz at attack in practice and a few scrimmages during the 2022-23 offseason, it became clear: the spot was Dickson's. "We didn't know who was getting that third spot for a while and playing the first couple weeks of the season we were still trying to figure that out," Dickson said. "For me personally, I've always sort of adapted and tried to be a chameleon. Like wherever there's an opening, fill that." Tiffany attributed Dickson earning the third spot at attack due to his "knack for hitting the net in a variety of creative ways," and his passion for riding the opposing team's defensemen. Dickson's decision to return to UVA in 2021, which resulted in him playing two STICKING STICKING IT OUT IT OUT Xander Dickson's Patience Pays Off Dickson tallied a program single-season record of 61 goals while also dishing out 22 assists. He also tied for No. 3 on UVA's single-season points list (83) in a cam- paign that ended in overtime in the NCAA semifinals May 27. (Photo by Matt Riley/courtesy UVA)