An interested observer

Former Virginia lacrosse player Matt Ward finished his college career on the highest of notes. In 2006, he helped lead UVa to one of the best seasons in the sport’s history. The Cavaliers went undefeated and won the NCAA championship.

That season, Ward won the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded to the top player in the country. After graduating with a degree in commerce, Ward elected to bypass law school in favor of a career at ESPN. On Thursday, the Falls Church native chatted with beat writer Whitelaw Reid of The Daily Progress.

DP: So what have you been doing for ESPN?

MW: I work full-time in the sales and marketing division, and during lacrosse season, I double as an on-air [television] analyst for college lacrosse games.

DP: Will you be working the Virginia-Johns Hopkins game on Sunday?

MW: No. They try and keep me away from Virginia games (laughs). I try my best to be as objective as possible, but with Virginia it’s not really possible. It’s tough to do those games.

DP: What’s it been like for you since leaving Virginia — how have you kept yourself busy and what’s the transition been like to the “real world”?

MW: I think the moment that you leave grounds in Charlottesville, it strikes you that the best time of your life is maybe beyond you. It was such a great experience meeting all the people that I did there. The school and surroundings — which are unlike any other in the country — really helped shape me as an individual. It’s something that I’ve obviously missed. I talked to a couple of people who’ve been out a couple of years. They said, ‘Give it a couple of years.’ Well, I have and I’m still not over it!

But life goes on and my day-to-day job has been at ESPN, so I get to stick around sports, which is a great thing for me. When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it and have just been loving life and trying to learn as much about this industry as I can.

DP: So what happened with your original plans to go to law school?

MW: My heart wasn’t 100 percent into the idea. My sister, who’s a lawyer, said that if you’re not 150 percent into law school, it’s not worth it. At that point, I looked into some things that I wanted to do. I did commercial real estate for a year, but then the ESPN opportunity opened up. It’s been two years now that I’ve been at the Worldwide Leader and I love every moment of it.

DP: What’s the latest with your playing career?

MW: I was with Washington for my first three years, but then when the league contracted down to six [teams], I got moved up to Long Island. I play my first game for the Lizards [tonight].

DP: It’s been a few years since that amazing senior year that you had. Have you had a chance to reflect on just how special it was — going undefeated and dominating everyone the way you guys did?

MW: You couldn’t have asked for a better senior year. We had 13 seniors and everyone contributed as much as everyone else. The players that I was around — the more that I look at, the more I realize I was a product of the great players I was playing with. When you have guys who do all the little things the right way, it makes your life a lot easier.

DP: Looking at Virginia this season, as impartially as you can, do you think they can make a run and win it all? What’s your take?

MW: I definitely think they have a chance. You look at the athleticism that they put all over the field — I don’t know if there’s any other team in the country that can run with them. … I think Duke has a blueprint of how to match up with Virginia. Virginia is going to have to make some adjustments if they wind up playing Duke or whoever. I think they’re going to need to play a little better team defense if they’re going to make that run.

DP: What’s your prediction for the championship game?

MW: I have Syracuse and UVa in the bracket that I filled out and I think that game could go either way. Obviously, I’m rooting for Virginia, but I think it’s anyone’s tournament. I think Maryland could beat Syracuse, Hopkins could beat Virginia. Cornell-Princeton, who knows? And then you have Duke and UNC playing for a third time.

DP: So when do you get to film your first ESPN commercial with like Stuart Scott or somebody?

MW: It’s in the works (laughs). I’m trying pretty hard to get that. We’ll see.