No. 4 Virginia lacrosse sticking with goalie Matthew Nunes (2024)

“It was a moment I had been working toward my whole life,” Morris said this week. “I said to myself, ‘Here you are.’ This was the moment I’d been waiting for and dreaming of. To play in that high level of a game, it was a pretty amazing experience.”

Morris, a top recruit, redshirted last season and played 69 minutes over seven appearances this year. He logged 45 Sunday, playing the final three quarters of the Cavaliers’ 18-12 loss, making five saves and allowing 11 goals.

Nunes was dealing with an undisclosed injury and, after seeing him allow seven goals without making a save in the opening quarter, UVa assistant coach Kip Turner told head coach Lars Tiffany, the team needed to sit Nunes.

“Something during the week had happened to him. It wasn’t a significant injury, by any means. But he was dealing with something,” Tiffany said before practice Wednesday. “(Turner) watched that first quarter and he’s like, ‘You know what. He’s not 100% right.’ And he said, ‘We got to take him out of there.’”

Tiffany said Nunes has recovered and will be in the cage Saturday when Virginia (10-2, 1-1 ACC), which fell to No. 4 after the loss, plays at No. 6 Syracuse (10-4, 2-1).

“Matt Nunes is our starter,” Tiffany said. “He’s as mature a young man as maybe I’ve ever coached. Matt Nunes is ready to step up after having a poor performance.”

Morris, who said he views Nunes both as a close friend and a mentor, agreed.

“The one thing I’ve learned playing goalie is that not every game is going to be your best,” Morris said. “Matthew’s been absolutely incredible all year. He’s, in my opinion, the best goalie in the country. I’m always ready in case he needs me. I have his back, but one performance doesn’t define him.”

Morris said that, while he aims to compete with and push Nunes in practice and would love to be the team’s starter, he signed at UVa knowing he was likely to spend 2-3 years behind Nunes as his backup. He’s using that time, first, to rid himself of some bad habit he said he fell into as a high school player, when the competition wasn’t as high.

Morris has focused on tightening up his stance, footwork and other techniques. He said he benefits from playing scout-team goalie and facing some of the game’s best shooters, including All-Americans Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier, the nation’s leading scorer.

He’s soaking up the coaching from Turner and the advice and pointers from Nunes. The two goalies frequently have dinner together the night before home games and grab lunch before practices.

“My time as a starter will come, and when that does come, I’ll be ready,” Morris said. “Until then, I try to continue to be the best backup I can possibly be and just keep grinding.”

Virginia having two talented goalies it is confident playing is an example of just how absurdly strong ACC goaltending is this season. Notre Dame’s Liam Entenmann, Syracuse’s Will Mark and North Carolina’s Collin Krieg are all seniors. Entemann and Marks have been All-Americans.

Nunes is in his third season starting at Virginia. And, statistically, the conference’s strongest goaltender has been Duke’s Patrick Jameison, a freshman who ranks fourth nationally in goals against average and eighth in save percentage.

“I think ACCs goalies have always been a pretty strong unit, but this year it’s exceptional,” said Turner, a former UVa goaltender. “I think that goalies want to go to places where they can play in these bigtime ACC games. And that’s why they choose that path.”

All five ACC netminders rank in the top 25 nationally in goals against average. It’s arguably the league’s strongest year in the cage since 2011, when Syracuse’s John Galloway, Virginia’s Adam Ghitelman and Notre Dame’s John Kemp were all All-Americans.

“I’m excited that the goalies in the ACC are getting the attention they’re due,” Tiffany said. “They’ve been great over the years. The percentages go down because they’re seeing ACC shooters. This year, the percentages are up.”

Jameison leads the league in save percentage at .571, just ahead of Nunes who is at .565. Mark, who Virginia faces Saturday, is third at .556.

“It’s humbling,” Morris said of the depth of talent in the ACC. “You realize this is the best conference in the country, but it also has some of the best goalies.”

It’s a group Morris is eager to join in the not-too-distant future.