Lacrosse Mag: Virginia Toughens Faceoff Presence with Gaudet

A nice read from Lacrosse Magazine about former Dartmouth player Chad Gaudet, now Virginia's primary faceoff man:

Wielding a long pole when he approaches the faceoff, you could say Virginia's Chad Gaudet gives the Cavaliers a slightly unique look at the position.

And after helping orchestrate an 18-6 obliteration of Villanova in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a 14-for-17 performance, it's quickly becoming apparent that this oddity has given UVA the edge it so highly sought.

The Cavliers struggled on faceoffs last year (.499 percentage), and they were a rather blatant cause of UVA's demise in the 2008 NCAA semifinals against Syracuse. But with the addition of fifth-year senior and ex-Dartmouth player Gaudet (.559, 165-for-295), they've upped that to .555 this season. What's more, Gaudet has claimed a gaudy 68 percent of his faceoffs in games in which UVA has put up at least 16 goals -- including 21-for-32 in a 16-15 thriller over Johns Hopkins on March 21.

Read the rest here.