Gilbert gets UVa into final

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Foster Gilbert’s move to attack has been a natural for the Virginia lacrosse team.

The sophomore, an attackman in high school who began the season in the midfield, is flourishing at attack for the 14th-ranked Cavaliers (5-6) as they enter this afternoon’s ACC title game against No.3 Maryland (9-2) at Fetzer Field.

Gilbert scored a goal and added eight assists as a midfielder on last year’s national title team and was penciled in to run with Virginia’s youthful first midfield this season. Those plans changed after Gilbert managed only one assist as the Cavaliers stumbled to a 1-4 start.

“The coaches said I played midfield like an attackman,” Gilbert said. “I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable doing what they were asking me to do, and I don’t really think it was my strong suit. They wanted me to go hard and shoot, and that really wasn’t my style.”

Before Virginia’s game against Towson last month, coach Dom Starsia decided to shift Gilbert to attack at times and give junior John Christmas some runs in the midfield. Starsia figured the move would create some space for the speedy Christmas and also take pressure off sophomore midfielder Kyle Dixon.

“I was having trouble with him as a middie because he really didn’t like to dodge off the top,” Starsia said. “[Gilbert’s] a talented kid and maybe my own stubbornness prevented us from doing it earlier, but it’s hard to take a second-team All-America attackman out of position.”

While the move benefited Christmas, Gilbert has enjoyed a bigger boost. In his second game at attack, Gilbert scored a wraparound goal in overtime to cap the Cavaliers’ upset of top-ranked Johns Hopkins on March27.

He has since recorded a hat trick against Duke on April17 and scored on a charge from behind the cage after a 20-second wait in Friday’s ACC 11-9 semifinal defeat of North Carolina.

“It’s sort of what I grew up playing,” said Gilbert, who has played attack exclusively the last two games. “I’m just a little more comfortable being behind the goal and seeing things. It sort of caters to a more cerebral side. [Teammates] even say I look more comfortable back there.”

That is good news for the third-seeded Cavaliers, who will need to manufacture more offense than they did in their last meeting with Maryland. Virginia is only 22 days removed from an embarrassing 11-2 loss to the Terrapins and must win today to keep alive its chances for a winning record and NCAA tournament consideration.

“The opportunity to play a team we played so poorly against is great because we didn’t show Maryland the team we are,” goalie Tillman Johnson said. “We played like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

The top-seeded Terps are seeking their first ACC tournament title since 1998 and only their second in the event’s 16-year history. Maryland capitalized on a flurry of transition goals to upend Duke 10-7 on Friday and reach its first title game in three years.

Maryland also could enhance its case for a top-four seed in next month’s NCAA tournament, especially after losses this weekend by No.4 Princeton and No.6 North Carolina.

“It’s a small tournament, but these four teams are extremely competitive in the national scope,” Maryland defenseman Chris Passavia said. “There’s a huge pride issue between the four schools, and when you have a tournament it’s kind of intensified. You can win the regular season, but if you win in this format you’ve really accomplished something. It would give us a big boost going into the playoffs.”