Five Cavaliers named Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Inside Lacrosse announced that Virginia men’s lacrosse players Connor Shellenberger, Matt Moore, Petey LaSalla, Grayson Sallade and Cade Saustad have been named 2022 Preseason All-Americans.

Shellenberger was named a First Team recipient, while Moore and LaSalla garnered Second Team honors. Sallade was tabbed a Third Team selection and Saustad was named to the Honorable Mention list.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Shellenberger was named a Second Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse. The Most Outstanding Player of last season’s NCAA Tournament, Shellenberger led the Cavaliers after tying for a tournament-best 24 points on 14 goals and a tournament-high 10 assists. His 24 points during the tournament was the most by a Cavalier in program history during a single NCAA Tournament run. Shellenberger finished the season fourth in the nation in both total points (79) and assists (42), both of which were also UVA freshman records. Shellenberger also registered at least one point in all 18 games and tallied at least two assists in 13 games.

Moore was named an All-American Honorable Mention by Inside Lacrosse last season. He finished the 2021 season 10th in the nation in points (67) and became just the fifth Cavalier all-time to register at least 100 goals and 100 assists in a career. Moore scored 33 goals and dished out 34 assists on the season to finish second on the team in points. His eight NCAA Tournament goals, including five in the national championship showdown against Maryland, earned him NCAA All-Tournament honors.

LaSalla, an Inside Lacrosse Second Team All-American in 2021, was one of the nation’s best faceoff midfielders. Last season, LaSalla led the country with 277 faceoff wins, which was also a single-season program record. He also set a program record after finishing third in the nation with 137 ground balls. LaSalla’s 62.4 winning-percentage at the center X was good for 12th in the nation. In 2021, he became the first player in UVA history to tally five games with at least 20 faceoff wins in a single season, which is also a career best for LaSalla.

One of the nation’s best short-stick defensive midfielders, Sallade was a work horse for the Cavaliers, appearing in all 18 of UVA’s games in 2021. Last season, he collected 54 ground balls, including eight in Virginia’s NCAA semifinals matchup against North Carolina, and caused 13 turnovers on the season. In addition to Moore and Saustad, Sallade has been named one of three team captains this season.

Saustad was named a USILA All-America Honorable Mention after starting in all 18 games and finished third on the team with 17 caused turnovers. In last year’s NCAA Tournament, Saustad and the Cavaliers defense held Georgetown standout Jake Carraway scoreless in the NCAA Quarterfinal round, snapping the longest active scoring streak (44 games) in the nation at the time. Saustad also held Tewaaraton Trophy winner Jared Bernhardt to just two goals in the NCAA title game, both of which came off slides. For his performance last season, Saustad was named to the VaSID All-State Team.