Virginia twins will challenge Maryland
Saturday against Johns Hopkins, Virginia midfielder Shamel Bratton scored a goal that could have been duplicated by perhaps only one other player in college lacrosse – his twin brother Rhamel.
Taking an outlet pass from goalie Adam Ghitelman with less than 10 seconds left in the third period, Bratton raced the length of the field, blowing past two defenders and culminating his sprint with a shot on the run that hit the back of the net with 1 second left.
“I’m pretty confident that I can get from one end to the other in less than 10 seconds,” said Shamel Bratton. “I just did that, nobody really got a stick on me.”
Slowing down Shamel and Rhamel Bratton has been a dicey proposition ever since the juniors arrived in Charlottesville from Huntington (N.Y.) High as two of the most hyped lacrosse recruits in history.
Rejecting offers from schools such as Penn State and Rutgers, to play both football and lacrosse, the Brattons opted for lacrosse only at Virginia, recognizing the Cavaliers’ up-tempo style suited their extraordinary open-field abilities.
After both had promising freshman seasons as secondary weapons, Shamel blossomed into an All-America last spring while Rhamel battled injuries and questionable shot selection (18.4 percent).
This season, both are playing full-tilt, running together in the Cavaliers’ first midfield for the first time, and helping No. 2 Virginia to a perfect start. Saturday night, when Virginia (9-0) travels to No. 4 Maryland (6-1), the Terrapins will try to solve the most dynamic offense in college lacrosse.
It features Shamel (9 goals, 8 assists), Rhamel (15 goals) and midfield sniper Brian Carroll (15 goals, 7 assists). Combine the trio with attackmen Steele Stanwick (12 goals, 18 assists), Chris Bocklet (26 goals, 9 assists), and Matt White (12 goals, 6 assists), and the dilemma for opposing defenses is obvious – who to guard with a short-stick midfielder?
Virginia is second in the nation in offense (14.4 goals per game), fifth in defense (7.3 gpg), and No. 1 in scoring margin (7.1). The only close game came against Syracuse, 11-10. The Cavaliers most impressive performance was a 12-4 win over Cornell, which avenged a 15-6 defeat in last year’s NCAA semifinals.
