The Virginia Cavaliers lacrosse program has been a household name in college lacrosse since the seventies. The Cavaliers have consistently made the NCAA tournament and almost always assured themselves a spot in Championship Weekend. The team really took a hit in the 2010s before Lars Tiffany came on board and steered the program in the right direction. Since then, Virginia has made four NCAA Championship Weekend appearances, securing national titles in 2019 and 2021. The Virginia lacrosse program has become a powerhouse within the sport, pulling in multiple high-level recruits with the expectation of Championship Weekend appearances every year. 2025 was expected to be a dominant year for the Cavaliers, given the roster and overall expectations.
An Interesting 2024 Campaign
The 2024 season was somewhat of a down year for the Virginia lacrosse program, despite making another Championship Weekend appearance. The team finished the year with a 12-6 record, which was the most losses they’d accumulated since 2018. Virginia handled its business out of conference week after week, but once ACC play kicked off, the team struggled to gain momentum. They finished the regular season with three consecutive losses to Duke, Syracuse, and Notre Dame. Despite a strong regular season, those conference losses took a toll on the team’s morale and their seeding come tournament time. The ACC tournament would be no different, as they got blown out by Notre Dame in the semifinals. The NCAA tournament, however, saw a solid win over Saint Joseph’s and a gritty double-overtime victory over Johns Hopkins, before ultimately coming up short against Maryland in the Championship Weekend semifinals.
High Hopes for 2025
Just like every season, the Cavaliers had extremely high expectations coming into 2025. Most media outlets ranked them around 6th in the country, with many expecting Virginia to potentially become the top dog in the ACC once again, with Notre Dame, Duke, and Syracuse still needing to prove themselves. The team was loaded with talent in 2024, and replacing faces like Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier was going to be no easy task. One thing you can credit Lars Tiffany for is his stellar recruiting year after year. Entering 2025, many young faces were expected to step up in a big way. Thankfully, McCabe Millon had an excellent freshman year and was able to gain some helpful experience while learning from the vets. Other players expected to step up in 2025 included Truitt Sunderland, Ryan Colsey, and Griffin Schutz. With all of that talent, many fans believed this team had everything needed for a national title run.
A Shocking Downward Spiral
If you had told fans in February that the Virginia Cavaliers’ season would be over by late April, they would have laughed in your face. No one saw this coming. In no world was this team supposed to fall short of an NCAA tournament appearance, especially considering the talent and expectations surrounding them. Virginia had a rough February, going 2-2, with losses to Richmond and Ohio State. The loss to Ohio State, specifically, was eye-opening as the Cavaliers were defeated 5-14, which was alarming. They would lose their following ranked matchups against Johns Hopkins and Maryland, putting the Cavaliers on red alert as they were 0-4 against ranked opponents at this point. Heading into conference play at 5-4, things were looking less than ideal, but ACC play could turn their season around with every matchup being highly touted. Somehow, someway, the Cavaliers didn’t win a single ACC conference game, closing out their 2025 season with no playoff appearance.
Breaking Down the Struggles
Breaking down the numbers and data from the year tells a clear story of where things went wrong in 2025. Offensively, certain players stepped up but never broke out to clear superstar status—something that’s needed to win a national championship. Truitt Sunderland finished the season with 51 points, Ryan Colsey had 40, and McCabe Millon had 50. While having your top three players averaging around 3.5 points a game is solid, the supporting cast struggled to keep up, making Virginia an easy team to scout and game plan for. This led to the Cavaliers ranking 42nd in the country in goals per game, scoring on average only 11.1. The team didn’t have as many offensive possessions as they would have liked, finishing the season 42nd in face-off percentage and 44th in clearing. These two numbers are telling: the only way to put the ball in the back of the net is to have ample possessions, and the Cavaliers didn’t have that in 2025. On the defensive end, the team finished with a 42nd ranking in goals allowed at 11.0. Having a break-even scoring margin was never going to be enough to win games consistently, and that’s exactly what happened to the Cavaliers this season.
What’s Next for Virginia?
So, where do the Cavaliers go from here? Losing has not been in Virginia’s bloodline for quite some time, so the 2025 season is certainly a shock for everyone involved. One thing is for certain, Lars Tiffany is one of the greatest coaches ever involved with the sport of lacrosse, and he will move his group of young men in the right direction. Having a losing season isn’t the end of the world, but never learning from it or growing certainly is. Coach Tiffany is all about growth and the journey along the way. While I’m sure not making the postseason hits home for everyone involved, he’s going to ensure the program learns from it and takes a step forward. Virginia has an excellent recruiting class coming in, and I’m sure the underclassmen will do everything in their power to make sure they don’t replicate this season moving forward. The Virginia Cavaliers will always be at the top of college lacrosse. One losing season doesn’t define the program, nor does it define the people involved. The Cavaliers will be back, and I promise you they will have a chip on their shoulder, with a level of gratitude for winning that will carry them to the top of the mountain.
