Freshman Foray Ken Clausen 11 starts 49 groundballs 11 caused turnovers 1 goal

Last year, men's lacrosse captured the attention of the entire country.

Not only because of the incredible Virginia Cavalier squad that rolled toward a 17-0 record en route to an NCAA Championship, but because of the Duke lacrosse scandal which rocked the community of Durham, N.C., and sent the media into a frenzy.

It is something Virginia freshman defender Ken Clausen remembers all too well.

"I just remember being shocked," Clausen said.

The No. 1 rated defensive recruit in the country was at a crossroads. On one hand was a Duke program that he had fallen in love with in the fall but had just fired their head coach Mike Pressler and was debating whether the lacrosse program should even continue to exist. On the other hand, Virginia, the only other school Clausen had seriously considered was demolishing the competition. Given these circumstances, Clausen decided to contact Virginia coach Dom Starsia about becoming a Cavalier.

"He initiated most of the process and actually did a lot of the legwork on [coming to Virginia]," Starsia said. "I think at the time we all wanted Duke to come back and land on its feet, but all of these young men had the right to be able to look at their own opportunities."

Well Duke has landed on its feet and is running past the competition in 2007. With a 9-2 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the ACC, the Blue Devils look poised to be one of the contenders to take the championship crown away from the Cavaliers and can take the top seed in the ACC Tournament if they win Saturday in Durham.

The lacrosse fever for Blue Devil fans is further exacerbated by the announcement this week that all charges against the three Duke players have been dropped. With CSTV broadcasting this game nationally, the ingredients seem to be in place for a colossal match-up between two top programs.

"It feels kind of ironic that the charges would drop right when we're about to come up there," Clausen said. "We can't worry about that though; I mean I've been waiting for this game an entire year."

Clausen has a special appreciation for the Duke offense, unique from his teammates. For months he anticipated playing alongside them, and therefore has a deep respect for the task of trying to stop two of the top three scorers in the country.

"They've got a great duo in [Zack] Greer and [Matt] Danowski. They are both amazing players," Clausen said. "It's really weird because I always thought I'd be playing with them and now to have to go up against them is going to be a real challenge."

Greer and Danowski were just two of the many Duke players Clausen came in close contact with on his official visit to Duke. During his stay, he actually roomed with, Collin Finnerty, one of the recently exonerated players.

"He seemed like a cool guy," Clausen said. "To be honest, I think any one of them could have been accused given everything."

Despite all the recent exonerations and success of the Duke program, Clausen does not regret his decision to come to Virginia.

"It wasn't really about innocence or guilt to me," Clausen said. "I had a feeling they were all going to be found innocent, I was just worried about the state of the program there given everything that had happened. I wanted to go somewhere I knew I could be successful."

Well success certainly describes his first season so far in the orange and blue. Clausen has been fighting for playing time since the moment he stepped on the field; he has even earned a starting role on a defending national champion team.

"The freshmen and upperclassmen were all battling [for] what was one spot in the starting rotation," Starsia said. "Because he was going to Duke, I really hadn't paid that much attention to him at the beginning of the year playing-wise."

"Sometimes I look down and when I see the word Virginia on my jersey, it feels amazing." ~ Virginia's Ken Clausen

Well everyone is paying attention to Clausen now and he has earned that playing time, currently holding the team lead in ground balls with 49.

"Everyone on the defense really has their niche," Clausen said. "[Ground balls] are just one thing I can do to try and help out the team, but no I never thought I'd be doing so well so early."

One reason for Clausen's success is his teammates. The starters have been there for Clausen, to help him make the difficult transition from high school to collegiate lacrosse as seamlessly as possible.

"The biggest key to defense in college is just learning other players' tendencies and communication," Clausen said. "Ricky [Smith], Matt [Kelly], and Mike [Timms], they all help me and communicate with me so that we know exactly what we're doing and who we're defending at all times."

Certainly for Clausen it will be a mix of emotions as he enters Koskinen Stadium for the first time as a collegiate athlete. However, for Clausen he has always taken solace in one simple fact:

"Sometimes I look down and when I see the word Virginia on my jersey, it feels amazing."

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