Ward scores tourney record 16 goals to earn MVP honors.

	Printer-Friendly Format   E-mail this article     Matt Ward (L) and Matt Poskay (R) scored 5 goals apiece to power Virginia to its second national championship in four years.
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May 29, 2006

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Philadelphia, Pa. - Virginia used an 8-2 second half run to break open a tight contest and win the men's lacrosse national title with a 15-7 win over Massachusetts this afternoon before an NCAA championship record crowd of 47,062 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The championship is Virginia's fourth NCAA championship and the sixth national title in program history. The Cavaliers become the first team in NCAA history to finish with a 17-0 record and the 12th team in NCAA history to win the national championship with an undefeated record.

Matt Ward and Matt Poskay, playing their final game in the orange and blue, scored five goals to lead the way for the nation's No. 1 offense.

Drew Thompson won eight of 12 faceoffs to help Virginia win the advantage in the faceoff circle with 16 wins in 26 attempts. The Cavaliers' successful faceoff play enabled them to dominate the time of possession.

Defenseman Michael Culver held UMass' leading scorer Sean Morris to two assists as his 34-game goal scoring streak ended.

UMass midfielder Brett Garber scored early in the second half to forge a 5-all tie, the first time Virginia had been tied in 11 games.

Ward and Kyle Dixon scored goals shortly after as Virginia regained the lead 7-5. Jamie Yaman scored at the 7:59 mark to trim the margin to 7-6, but the Cavaliers ended the third quarter with four goals in a four-minute and 12-second span. Poskay scored twice and Dixon and Ward scored once during the run.

Poskay and Ward scored to open the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers pushed the lead to 13-6. UMass scored its final goal with 9:25 to play, while Virginia sophomore Ben Rubeor tallied the final two goals of the game.

Ward was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He scored 16 goals in the tournament to set the record for most goals. Syracuse's Gary Gait held the record with 15 goals in the 1990 tournament.

Ward was joined on the all-tournament team by Culver, Dixon, Danny Glading and Poskay, Jake Deane, Morris, Jack Reid and Doc Schneider of UMass and Syracuse's Brett Bucktooth.

#10 UMass 1-3-2-1--7 record: 13-5
#1 Virginia 4-1-6-4--15 record: 17-0
att--47,062 (tournament finals record)

Scoring (G-A)--V: Matt Poskay 5-0, Matt Ward 5-0, Ben Rubeor 2-2, Kyle Dixon 2-1, Danny Glading 1-3, Drew Thompson 0-3, Garrett Billings 0-1, Ricky Smith 0-1. M: Jake Deane 1-1, Pat Larmon 1-1, Jamie Yaman 1-1, Jim Connolly 1-0, Brett Garber 1-0, Rory Pedrick 1-0, Clay Stabert 1-0, Sean Morris 0-2.

Goalie Summary--V: Kip Turner 58:47 mins., 6 saves, 7 goals allowed; Bud Petit 1:13 mins., 0 saves, 0 goals allowed. M: Doc Schneider 60:00 mins., 17 saves, 15 goals allowed.

Shots: V--55, M--31
Ground Balls: V--37, M--23
Clearing: V--18x18, M--15x17
Faceoffs: V--16, M--10
Penalties: V--none, M--3-3:00
EMO: V--3x3, M--none