US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Preseason Top 20 on Dec. 17. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February.

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No. 2 Virginia

2019 Record: 17-3 (3-1, Atlantic Coast Conference)
Coach: Lars Tiffany (4th year)
Assistants: Sean Kirwan, Kip Turner, Bo Lori

All-Time Record: 657-370-6
NCAA Appearances: 39
Final Fours: 23
Championships: 6

2020 Schedule

Save the Date
March 14

The first regular-season game between these two border schools since Maryland left the ACC for the Big Ten following the 2014 season would be juicy enough, but throw in last year’s NCAA quarterfinal game that Virginia won in OT thanks in part to a controversial goal late in regulation, and you’ve got a circle-the-date game.

UVA Can Score, But Can the Cavs Defend?

Lars Tiffany knows he isn’t going to get any sympathy as Virginia tries to repeat as national champion.

The starting attack of Michael Kraus, Ian Laviano and Matt Moore returns intact and the school’s all-time leading midfielder scorer, Dox Aitken, also is back. The offense is so good that the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Connor Shellenberger, is going to have to fight to get on the field in his first season in Charlottesville.

“We can score,” Tiffany said.

Which leads to Tiffany’s other quick assessment heading into to 2020: “Can we defend?”

“It took three years to get to a place where our defense was really humming,” Tiffany said. “We graduated a lot of guys. You saw this building up, and now it’s a step down. Obviously, the challenge is to build that back up.”

Tiffany’s concerns were exacerbated in the fall as Cade Saustad, a starter as a freshman, sat out with an injury.

“It was more than I anticipated when we started running around in September,” Tiffany said. “There’s a lot of institutional knowledge no longer here.”

Fifth-year senior and All-American Logan Greco graduated, and the defensive midfield was also hit hard with three graduation losses, most notably Dave Smith, who along with Greco, were the quarterbacks for the UVA defense.

The cupboard is far from bare. One-time walk-on Kyle Kology is a now a junior entering his third year as a starter. Saustad was excellent as a freshman. A trio of freshmen — Scott Bower, Jake Giulieri and Quentin Matsui — are more than capable to fill the final spot.

There’s plenty of additional support to stifle opponents.

Long-stick midfielder Jared Conners was a first-team All-American and is a threat of both ends of the field. Tiffany toyed with the idea of moving Conners to close defense, but ultimately determined that he’s just too valuable in the LSM role.

The short-stick group will be led by junior John Fox, who Tiffany feels is ready to step into Smith’s leadership role.

And the last line of defense gives plenty of reason for optimism. Junior Alex Rode had unspectacular stats last year (50.6 save percentage and a 10.22 goals against average), but the top-rated goalie in his recruiting class rose to the occasion on the biggest stage. Rode was the Most Outstanding Player of NCAA championship weekend, making a combined 31 saves in wins over Duke and Yale.

Tiffany saw him build off that effort in the fall and has the luxury of an experienced backup in Griffin Thompson (13 career starts).

Tiffany is hopeful that all adds up to another championship-level defense to go along with his electrifying offense.

Projected Starters

A – Michael Kraus – Sr. – 39 G, 36 A
A – Ian Laviano – Jr. – 51 G, 11 A
A – Matt Moore – Jr. – 46 G, 43 A
M – Dox Aitken – Sr. – 44 G, 8 A
M – Jeff Conner – So. – 4 G, 10 A
M – Peyton Cormier – Fr. – (injured)
FO – Petey LaSalla – So. – 58.7 FO%, 8 G
LSM – Jared Conners – Sr. – 57 GB, 27 CT
SSDM – John Fox – Jr. – 20 GB, 11 CT
D – Kyle Kology – Jr. – 33 GB, 16 CT
D – Quentin Matsui – Fr. – (high school)
D – Cade Saustad – So. – 46 GB, 13 CT
G – Alex Rode – Jr. – 50.6 SV%, 10.22 GAA

Tewaaraton Watch
Dox Aitken, M, Sr.

Tiffany calls the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Aitken a generational athlete who looks like a college football player. A first team All-American the last two years, Aitken has already broken Virginia’s single-season (44) and career (112) records for goals by a midfielder.

X Factor
Jeff Conner, M, So.

Conner had a “smart” freshman year playing alongside a veteran cast, finishing with 10 assists. Tiffany has challenged him to push the envelope in 2020, saying, “I want you to have more turnovers. I want you to take more chances. I want you to be more aggressive.”

National Rankings

180

Combined goals last season for Virginia’s top four scorers — all of whom are returning in 2020. Penn State is the only team in the country that has that kind of returning firepower. And these aren’t one-hit wonders. Combined, the Virginia quartet has 382 goals in their careers.

Enemy Lines

“Only their own cockiness from last year can hurt them (besides Penn State and not remembering how lucky they were).”

“Athletic, clear identity of who they are and more disciplined than ever before on defense.”