The Lars Tiffany era at Virginia began on Feb. 11 of last year when the young Cavaliers and Tiffany’s and offensive coordinator Sean Kirwan’s revamped group escaped with a 16-15 win over the Loyola Greyhounds at Ridley Athletic Complex.
It was a promising start for a program that looked like it was headed for an NCAA tournament berth. However, in a season of ups and downs, the Cavaliers finished 8-7 overall and winless in the ACC — albeit four losses came by one goal.
The season may not have gone exactly how Tiffany and his team had hoped, but it was just the beginning. The Cavaliers, as expected, finished third in the nation in goals scored (14.40) and assists per game (9.13), while leading the nation in ground balls per game 43.33.
NO. 16 VIRGINIA AT NO. 11 LOYOLA
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 10, 1 p.m.
WATCH: ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN
Other than star Zedd Williams and defenseman Tanner Scales, the core of this Virginia team returns, with Michael Kraus, Mike D’Amario, Dox Aitken and Ryan Conrad back for 2018.
Tiffany knows his team needs to improve on defense and at the faceoff X, and the Cavaliers will have a chance to see how far they’ve come this weekend.
The second year or the Lars Tiffany regime at Virginia starts Saturday, when his team hosts Loyola in a rematch of the thriller last year. With Pat Spencer entering his junior year and a rope unit already getting national acclaim, the Greyhounds will present a good measuring stick for where this Cavaliers team is in its progression.
And with the ACC as strong as it is, Virginia knows that it can’t waste an opportunity to pick up a solid nonconference win. Virginia and Loyola will meet almost one year to the day they battled at Ridley, only this time Tiffany’s team has a year under its belt.