Starsia gets his rematch

The year was 1993 when Villanova visited Scott Stadium, and first-year Virginia coach Dom Starsia was rockin’ the ’stache.

The game was the first of Starsia’s UVa tenure.

This afternoon, 16 years later, Virginia and Villanova will finally meet again when the Cavaliers host the Wildcats in a first-round NCAA tournament game at Klockner Stadium.

“It’s a little bit ironic,” Starsia said, “but the cast of characters — except for me — has changed a great deal.”

Starsia led Virginia to a 10-5 record back in ’93. Six years later, he guided the program to the first of three national championships.

This season, No. 1 UVa (13-2) has played great against everybody other than Duke, which sent the Cavaliers to both of their defeats.

Villanova, meanwhile, played its way into the tournament with a dramatic 10-9 win over Towson on Sunday in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

“They have a bunch of good players,” said Virginia senior co-captain Danny Glading. “They’re good in the defense and they’re good in the offense. I think they’re efficient on offense. They take their time and get to spots where they want to get.”

Starsia believes that Villanova (11-5) might try to slow the game’s tempo, similarly to what Dartmouth did to his team in its regular-season finale. In that game, Virginia lost nine of 10 faceoffs in the first half and wasn’t able to find its groove until the third quarter.

“On the offensive end, I think they have a balanced group,” Starsia said, “which is not really code for they don’t have anybody who stands out — but they have a bunch of people who play the game smartly and play with a lot of confidence.

“They may not want to play racehorse lacrosse up and down the field. I think there’s a chance they’ll want to play the game a little more deliberately.”

Last season, Virginia lost to Syracuse in a heartbreaker at the Final Four in Foxborough, Mass. The Orange, who went on to win the championship, is the No. 2 seed this year. Duke is No. 3.

If Virginia can get past Villanova, it would face Johns Hopkins at Navy in the quarterfinals next Sunday.

But Starsia isn’t thinking about that yet.

“Their goalie has really quick hands,” Starsia said. “I would say the strength of their team is in their defensive midfield.

“In a game like this, winning the faceoffs and getting the ball back is probably going to be as important as everything.”

In that 1993 meeting, Virginia won the game, 21-6. Not surprisingly, Starsia’s recollection of most everything else isn’t very crisp. “It may just be that I’m getting old,” he joked.

As for the chances of seeing a throwback mustache this afternoon?

“If it insured us that we would win, then I would grow it back — the same way that I was happy to cut it off when we won the championship in 1999,” said Starsia, smiling. “Those kinds of things are easily replaceable.”

Glading said the team seems ready to go.

“It’s going to be an exciting game,” he said. “We’ve had two good weeks of practice and I think we’re going to be prepared.”