Timms, Cavs try to stop Devils

It wouldn’t be surprising to go into Mike Timms’ house and find a voodoo doll with a Duke Blue Devils jersey on it.

Timms has been in the Virginia lacrosse program since 2004. During that time, UVa has gone 0-5 against Duke.

Think the fifth-year senior is fired up about this afternoon’s showdown against the Blue Devils in Durham?

“I’ve had this one personally marked on my calendar all season,” said Timms, a 6-foot-5, 229-pound defenseman.

Ditto for Timms’ teammates.

“Nobody on this team has beat them,” said Virginia senior Matt Kelly. “It’s definitely something we keep in the back of our minds.

“We put the same amount of time in during practice every week, but knowing that we haven’t beat Duke and knowing this is a big game, I think everyone is a little more aware.”

Making the game more intriguing is the fact that No. 1-ranked Virginia (12-0, 2-0 ACC) hasn’t lost all season, and No. 8 Duke (8-3, 1-1) has had two weeks to prepare for today.

The battle is reminiscent of the one that was supposed to have taken place back in 2006 but was canceled in the wake of the Duke lacrosse scandal, when Blue Devils players David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were accused of raping a stripper at a party. The investigation, which culiminated with the players’ charges being dropped, led Duke president Richard Brodhead to cancel the end of the season.

“It would have been a hell of a game,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia, whose squad went on to win the NCAA championship that season.

Timms and Kelly have no explanation for Duke’s dominance over them in recent years — other than that the Blue Devils have been really good.

“It’s not like we’ve just been unlucky or have played really bad,” Timms said. “Give credit to them, but we’ve also had some opportunities where we could have won, but didn’t take advantage.”

In last year’s regular-season meeting at Klockner Stadium, Duke reeled off 10 straight goals en route to a 19-9 win. A few weeks later in the ACC championship game, the Blue Devils beat Virginia, 11-9.

This season, Duke doesn’t have All-American Zack Greer. But, in a way, the Blue Devils are even more dangerous, according to Timms.

“They’re strong all over the field,” Timms said. “In the past, they’ve had the big superstar names. This year, there’s not that one guy. They’re pretty solid and athletic everywhere.”

Despite being undefeated, Timms doesn’t believe Virginia, coming off an overtime win over North Carolina at Giants Stadium last weekend, has come close to playing to its potential.

“We haven’t really had a game where both offensively and defensively we’ve been at our best,” he said. “When we can do that, we’re a team that’s hard to beat. We’re waiting for a time when we can do that.”

Nothing would give Starsia greater pleasure than seeing Timms get his long-awaited win over the Dookies.

“I would tell you, with all frankness, that we’re going to do everything we can to make that happen,” Starsia said. “I think everyone in our program is aware of that fact and we’d like to try and help Michael out if we can.”