6 hours Ago
Today is my last day of classes at UVa, which marks the end of my four years at this amazing school. This season also marks my last year covering Virginia men's lacrosse and all of Virginia's other amazing sports in person. Over the last four years, I traveled to two Final Fours.
I witnessed two heartbreaking losses on Memorial Day weekend, watching the end of the Connor Shellenberger tenure and the start of a new era of Virginia lacrosse in 2025. This year, I'll admit I was more optimistic than I should've been as this Virginia team struggled in 2025. The first gut-punch was a 13-10 home loss to Richmond in which the Cavs were called offsides twice in the fourth quarter, a key reason for their demise.
A week later, Virginia was pummeled by now No. 5 ranked Ohio State before suffering a 13-12 road loss to Johns Hopkins in the Doyle Smith Cup. Then, in Texas, Matthew Nunes earned his first start of the season, leading Virginia to a dominant 11-6 win anchored by a poised defensive effort, a win that many hoped would be a turning point in what was already a tumultuous year.
Despite the Hoos’ best efforts, the losses continued to tally, with Maryland defeating Virginia on home soil a week later. To kick off ACC play, Virginia nearly upset Syracuse, but a lackluster fourth quarter allowed the Orange to claim victory at Klöckner. The Cavs then suffered back-to-back road losses to Notre Dame and North Carolina before claiming a Senior Day victory over Lafayette.
After that, despite all of the ranked losses and no signature win, with one game remaining in the regular season, Virginia may have had a chance to make the NCAA tournament with a win against Duke, clinching a spot in the ACC tournament. Yet, despite the gritty effort by Virginia that saw the Hoos out groundball the Blue Devils by 19, Virginia fell short in overtime 10-9, putting the final nail in the coffin. This season was Virginia's first time missing the NCAA tournament under Lars Tiffany, but there's hope for the future.
"What an incredible effort by the men of Virginia lacrosse," said Lars Tiffany after the loss to Duke. "We showed the hearts of lions, and the men did everything this coaching staff could ever ask for, and that's why I hold my head high. We're all gutted that the season is over.
" So, despite the losses of Matthew Nunes, Ben Wayer, George Fulton, Griffin Kology, Noah Chizmar, Griffin Schutz, Anthony Ghobriel, Thomas Mencke, and Will Inderlied, why does this team have what it takes in 2026? This season's biggest downfall for the Hoos was their offense, a unit that failed to score double-digits on five occasions. Luckily for offensive coordinator Kevin Cassesse, he has an overwhelming amount of reinforcements for the 2026 season, starting with the no. 1 incoming freshman in Brendan Millon, brother of McCabe.
Besides Millon, the Hoos will have Ryan Duenkel, Kyle Colsey, and 6' 5 Sean Browne, who all missed last season due to medical redshirts. Coupled with the returners of McCabe Millon, Truitt Sunderland, Ryan Colsey at attack and Johnny Hackett, Charles Balsamo, Hudson Hausmann, and a healthy Joey Terenzi, this unit has the potential to produce something special next spring. Moving to the faceoff dot, Henry Metz and Andrew Greenspan both return as the two showed flashes of dominance throughout the year; further, having a healthy Joey Terenzi back on the wing will help.
As for LSM's, the loss of Wayer will be felt, but the reinforcement of five-star Robby Hopper and the return of Malachi Jones gives hope for continued dominance in groundball scrums off the faceoff. Lastly, on the defensive end, Kyle Morris, who has been praised as a better pure shot stopper than Nunes, steps into the net to lead a defense that returns the chaos causing John Schroter. Alongside Schroter, expect rising sophomores Luke Hublitz, Tommy Snyder, and Luke Jamin to step into the starting fold next year.
As for SSDMs, Terenzi should be healthy and lead a unit composed of returners Will Erdmann, Wills Burt, Mack Till, and JP Lagunowich. So it's clear the talent will be there in 2026, but what needs to change moving forward into next year? The key starts with the offense and finding a consistent rhythm, as the Hoos ranked 45th in scoring offense this year, which is nowhere close to championship caliber. Besides that, returning to a feast-or-famine groundball mentality that has been the lifeblood of Virginia lacrosse under Lars Tiffany.
As for cleaning up aspects, it is also quintessential for the Hoos to continue to showcase dominance on the defensive end. That said, for the first time since 2017, the Hoos will not play a game in May, as preparations for the 2026 season have already begun in Charlottesville. As for me, although I won't be present in Klöckner Stadium as often as I'd like to, I'll continue to watch this team from afar.
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