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BY MIKE SCANDURA V IRGINIA MEN'S LACROSSE head coach Dom Starsia admittedly asks a lot of his goalies. That was the case this season with second-year Matt Barrett. "Teams like Virginia, Syracuse and Duke play up and down the field, which puts a lot of pressure on our goalies," said Starsia. "From the moment Matt got on the field, it required a lot. "He doesn't show a lot of emotion on the field, but he holds up to pressure. At Virginia, we have to get stops from our goalie in order for us to be successful. "We assumed he would be better his second year than his first," continued Starsia. "We were so inex- perienced he had to be consistent in order for us to be successful. He showed some things I didn't know he was capable of." How much better Barrett was as a second-year than he was as a first-year is reflected in the fol- lowing: • He was voted a second-team All-American goalie. • Prior to the NCAA Tournament, Barrett ranked third nationally in saves per game (13.07) and 11th in save percentage (.565). • He was the only Cavalier voted to the All-ACC team. "When you see more shots, you don't think as much," said Barrett. "It did help me, but I knew coming in I would see a lot of shots because of the caliber of play in the ACC. It does make it easier to get in a groove when you see a lot of shots." What Barrett and Starsia didn't see this season were experienced defenders. "We had a miraculous season," said Starsia — Virginia finished 10-5 after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. "A lot of it was be- cause of how Matt played in goal. When we played Loyola, who was fifth, on the road, not one of our five guys on man-down defense ever had started a college game. "It's unprecedented for a program at our level. We had a great season, and Matt had everything to do with that. He had as much to do with our success as any other player." Barrett knew before he set foot on a field this season that he likely would have to shoulder more of the load than might have been the case in prior years. "It definitely was different this year," he said in an understatement. "I knew coming in here we were STANDING TALL Goalie Matt Barrett Came Up Big All Season For UVa's Men's Lacrosse Team