Dom Starsia Quotations

You can go bang a ball against a wall all you want, but how do you become a better team player? By playing other team sports.

American field players would really help themselves if they were exposed to a steady stream of box experience. Box lacrosse is an extremely valuable background for a young player, we need to incorporate more of the indoor skills in to the field game. It is almost a requirement to have a top player with indoor experience on your roster right now.

The goals for Virginia lacrosse don't change a lot from year to year. We look at the lineup, start every year on Sept. 1 with the realistic goal to play at the end of the season, the very last game. This team has the talent to be able to do that.

In these early games you're focused on your performance. Just coming out and playing hard. There's not a lot you can do in terms of preparing and in terms of scouting.

When you watch Canadian kids [Box Lacrosse Players] score, when you see their skill level around the cage, you wonder to yourself, 'Jeez, are we teaching kids [in the U.S.] the wrong things?

There is nothing you can be doing in lacrosse on your own in the fall that would be better for you than going to football or soccer practice every day. You can go bang a ball against a wall all you want, but how do you become a better team player? By playing other team sports.

One of the nice bits about college sports is that you get to turn over the roster a little bit every year. I think we have a nice blend of youth and experience. We've got the pieces that we need in order to be successful.

I don't know the magic formula. It's something we have to deal with. We'll work hard this week and get back to it for the stretch run.

I don't think it's likely that we'll get involved with a bunch of these kids. I don't think it's going to happen. I would tell you that in all honesty that any short-term gain that Virginia or any other college program might gain from having somebody come to their team, I would trade that in a heartbeat for Duke coming back as a strong lacrosse team next year.

He has a strong left hand and the potential to crack one of the top units. Kevin is big and strong, a willing student and a quick study.

He has enormous potential and an aggressive instinct disguised by his quiet demeanor. He really came on late in the fall.

He is both strong and quick, one of the toughest to beat one-on-one. With a little more experience, Tim has the potential to burst on to the national scene.

He needs to be a little bit more of an angry shooter. His shooting skills are good, but they could be better -- they will get better.

We're older and wiser. Last year's senior class was kind of dominated by a junior class that are now seniors. We have a level of experience and we have an interesting mix here. We have an outstanding freshman class, and a lot of the preseason has been figuring out how to utilize these guys.

He's a goal scorer. He hardly ever takes a bad shot -- when he has a bad angle he can go over his back and get the better shot. It may look a little showy but it's the right play to make.

I think it is very important for us to continue to improve. We're reaching a point where we are close to being playoff eligible -- We're concerned about being part of it at the end.

It certainly feels like we are not going to be the same people we were before this happened.

I thought the key later on in the game was our play in the third quarter. We came out of the locker room and said we were going to make a run. That was the time, and I thought we were there to answer it. We got back on our game early in the third quarter and that is when the game was decided.

I think we fully understand that teams and people remember what happens to teams in May and not so much March and April. So we need to continue to improve.

I think this is the best we've played since the scrimmages began. I think we have some of the most talented attack men in the country. We're just still finding ways to incorporate all of them into our offense.

Michael's engine burns 'white-hot' all the time and his versatility is a valuable resource.

When's the last time you heard somebody say Virginia plays good defense?

We haven't played perfectly, and I wouldn't expect that we would. I think we're anxious -- ready may be a stretch -- but anxious and probably as ready as we can be.

To run the field, to ride, to push and control the tempo of a game requires midfielders who are athletic and unselfish. This year's unit has the ability to consistently demonstrate those characteristics.

We seemed to be wired so tightly in the first quarter. I think with all the subplots that were going on, I don't think we could think straight. Them jumping up on us a little bit actually slapped us a little bit and gave us a chance to catch our breath and get our feet back on the ground. We just played smarter after the first quarter.

We've had some inquiries from kids, but to be perfectly honest, we've told everybody to just take a deep breath here.

There is still a lot of work to be done and decisions to be made at the defensive end of the field. There are a number of new, interesting and determined candidates that will fill important roles.

We want to get the ball back, so they can't control the pace of play. If we can play at a little faster speed, I think that will play to our advantage.

We talked about getting off to a good start. You come on the road in a game like this and you just want to start well. Scoring is as much discipline as anything else. I thought we did a good job shooting the ball early.

We are very pleased to announce our schedule for the coming 2006 season. For the 15th consecutive year, Virginia will be the defending national champion or have them on the schedule. We have always felt strongly that the most rigorous regular-season schedule is the best preparation for championship competition. The young men who choose the University of Virginia look forward to the challenges ahead. 2006 promises to be a most exciting season.

Ben is tough and smart and can also get to the cage. A full season from Ben elevates the entire team.

At the end of the day, it was kind of the perfect game for us. It was certainly a quality win on the road.

Duke is a very significant player in college men's lacrosse, and to lose them even for the remainder of the spring is a significant blow to the picture of college men's lacrosse. It's why we all are so concerned and so interested in Duke's wanting to get this thing started again. It's a very important piece of the college lacrosse puzzle.

There's no question in my mind that is the best team that we will have played so far this year. They have the best balance overall. They're outstanding at both ends of the field.

North Carolina was hard as heck. It was one of those old-time lacrosse games. We obviously wanted to win but we also wanted to get a hard game out of this because we're going to sit for awhile.

You're playing Hopkins, it was a painful loss and you are who you are. I think it'll just add to a ferocious game between two good teams. I'm sure they feel like it's a game they need to come in and win. This is always an opportunity we're ready for.

You spend your whole life building a reputation and developing character. One mistake can cost you the whole tub. You have to start over one drop at a time. You feel that in terms of men's lacrosse. People are pounding the sport in a general sense. We're going to have to build back the reputation very slowly.

It's a real joy, what this regular season has been. I've been saying it for any number of weeks and months now: In our sport, people remember what you do in the month of May. That's what the public takes away from it.

I told the guys Friday on the practice field that we don't ever get any credit for playing defense.

I told the team at breakfast we have to be smart enough to know that if we take anything for granted, something is going to come back and bite you. I give our guys credit for getting right to it today.

For 20-15 to happen, both teams have to cooperate. Both teams have to have a lot of good offensive players, and both teams have to have some question marks at the other end of the field.

Each of these years is not the same. The quality of these seniors usually determines how things are going to play out.

I wanted to make sure the tournament was going to happen; otherwise, then we're really in a bind. I think this is the only logical choice there is. I don't think there's any qualms with the format.

It truly doesn't matter. We know both teams well. It's a little bit like a backyard brawl whether it's Carolina or Maryland. It's going to be a great game.

They bring an energy and a freshness to the process that everybody enjoys.

Once the ball started going in for us, it just seemed like it snowballed a little bit for them and the same for us. Once that rock started rolling down the hill, it was tough to pull it back.

Any time you have a game like this, it's a special moment.

I never in my wildest dreams thought we would be here at this point like this. But I don't sense that we are that excited about it. I don't think the kids care about 10-0 a great deal.

In such a small community of lacrosse-playing schools, Duke is a significant player. I would hope in the long run, Duke lacrosse will be able to come back from this. In no way am I taking sides in this argument. This has been as hurtful a situation as I can ever recall being witness.

In a case like, with the bad angle, he went behind his back. It may have looked a little showy but it was the right play to make.