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JUNE 2023 19 more years at midfield, just may have pro- duced the greatest season by any individual in Virginia men's lacrosse history. Coming off his best campaign yet in 2022, Dickson exploded in 2023. This season, he was named an All-ACC selection, a second-team All-American and a Tewaaraton Award watch list selection. Dick- son also concluded the Cavaliers' 17-game season, which featured the program's 25th NCAA semifinals appearance, with a pro- gram single-season record of 61 goals while also dishing out 22 assists. His 83 points tied for No. 3 on UVA's single-season points list. Dickson also scored at least one goal in all 17 games, including 10 hat tricks. He was selected No. 3 in the second round (11th overall) by the Atlas Lacrosse Club in the 2023 Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) College Draft. "I think the world of Xander Dickson, so him coming to this kind of peak in his career is no surprise to me," UVA assistant coach and offensive coordinator Sean Kirwan said. "I just think it was one of those things where he needed to realize how good he could be." Dickson's final chapter came to a close in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, when the Cavaliers fell 13-12 in overtime to Notre Dame May 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. After the most gut-wrenching moment of his career, Dickson spoke with great humility at the postgame press conference, despite his record-setting year. "I'm just happy that we're able to be men- tioned as the class that helped shape this program and helped to lead it where it's going in the future," he said. "And we know there's great things coming, and we're definitely pretty distraught that we didn't get to finish off with a national title this year. But just to be able to say I helped out a little bit and I guided this program to where it's headed in the future is something really special. It's something we hold very valuable to us." Without Dickson, it's hard to imagine the Cavaliers getting as far as they did during their postseason run. His decision to return to Charlottesville in 2021 ultimately boiled down to faith. Hav- ing faith in himself and his abilities. Having faith in his coaches to make the best deci- sions, and having faith that UVA was indeed the most rewarding collegiate experience out there for him. As Dickson and the Cavaliers geared up for this year's postseason, he recalled a conversation he had with Kirwan while Dick- son's name was still in the transfer portal back in 2020. "What if I can come back, what if I can get a starting role and be the player I know I can be at UVA, it would be a lot more re- warding," Dickson said. "And I'm really glad, and I hope kids see that and think they can go in the portal and look around, but it's really a gratitude thing and rewarding to be able to say, 'I stuck it out and I tried my hardest and it paid off.'"