Ridgefield's Matt White Scores In Overtime To Lift Virginia Past Bucknell In NCAA Lacrosse Tournament

Matt White called it the biggest goal of his career and it would be difficult to argue with that assessment.

The Ridgefield High School graduate scored in overtime Sunday, lifting No. 7 seed Virginia to a 13-12 victory over unseeded Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse tournament in  Charlottesville.

"It was a pretty cool feeling," said White, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound sophomore attackman who has worked himself into the Cavaliers' starting lineup. "Scoring a goal like that in an NCAA tournament game is going to be the biggest goal of your
career."

The game's final sequence started with Bucknell winning the faceoff in overtime and setting up the offense. Bucknell's Billy Eisenreich started to slip on his dodge near midfield. As that transpired, Virginia's Blake Riley checked the ball loose.

Riley picked up a ground ball and passed to Steele Stanwick  behind the cage. Stanwick then found White, who wrapped around the net and scored between the legs of Bucknell's goalie Kyle Feeney for the win.

White goal came with 2:33 left in the extra period and sent the Cavaliers (10-5) into the quarterfinals on Saturday against No. 2 seed Cornell in Hempstead, N.Y.

The contest, which will be televised by ESPN2, starts at 12 p.m.and is the first game of a doubleheader. Johns Hopkins and Denver square off in the nightcap at 2 p.m, also to be televised on ESPN2.

The other two quarterfinals will be played in Foxborough, Mass on Sunday with Syracuse taking on Maryland at noon and Duke facing Notre Dame at 2:30 in a rematch of last year's national championship, won by the Blue Devils. Those games will air on ESPNU.

Once Sunday's game went into the overtime, the Cavaliers' strategy was for Stanwick and White to execute a two-man game.

"We knew if we could get the ball, we were going to try not to call timeout because Bucknell might not be organized," Stanwick said during the postgame press conference. "We wanted to do a two-man game with Matt and I. Matt made a great play coming around the goal."

It was White's 14th goal of the season, sixth-best on the club. He also is sixth on the team in scoring with 18 points.

White's goal capped a spirited comeback and avoided a upset for the Cavaliers, who trailed 10-6 late in the third quarter, 11-8 with eight minutes left and 12-10 with four minutes remaining.

"We weren't really surprised we got down, but I think it speaks to the leadership on our team that we were able to fight back multiple times and never quit," White said

After the game, White, a member of Ridgefield's 2009 team that won the FCIAC lacrosse championship, got to talk to his friends and Tigers coach Roy Colsey back home.

He didn't need to make a phone call to his parents as they made the seven-hour drive to Virginia to watch the game as they always do.

"It's very loyal of them and much appreciated by me," White said.

He actually becomes the answer to a trivia question because the dramatic victory allowed veteran Virginia mentor Dom Starsia to tie Jack Emmer for most victories by a head coach while at a NCAA Division I school with 326. Emmer  coached at Army from 1980-2005.

Now the Cavaliers begin preparation for Cornell as they look to return to the Final Four. Last season, they lost in the semifinals to Duke. This year's semifinals and finals are set for May 28 and May 30 in Baltimore.

According to White, Cornell (14-2) has a similiar defensive scheme as Bucknell and is led by Rob Pannell, a junior attackman who is considered one of the top players in the country.

A two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, Pannell has been named one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is presented to the top men's and women's lacrosse player in the country. Stanwick also is a finalist along with John Galloway and Joe White of Syracuse and Army's Jeremy Boltus.

In last week's 12-5 first-round victory over Hartford, the Big Red held the Hawks scoreless for a span of 41:55 after falling behind early. Pannell had two goals and two assists.

Pannell is from Smithtown, N.Y., a short distance from Hempstead, so the Cavaliers will be looking to spoil his homecoming.

Since Long Island is less than two hours from Ridgefield, White should have a lot of his friends in the stands. It certainly will be a much shorter drive for his parents.

White might not consider himself to be in the same category with Stanwick and the other Tewaaraton Trophy finals. He says, though, that he is "blessed" to be playing with some of the top lacrosse players in the country.