found great appeal in a path farther from home.
“I guess I would say I have a little bit of mixed feelings of where I’m from,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of people there who support me and there’s a lot of people there that couldn’t care less. I’m here because I wanted to get away and I could.” An even bigger question loomed in Starsia’s mind before he even considered the on-field possibilities: How would Williams handle the academic rigors of Virginia? The feedback he received from the Silver Creek staff was they had no frame of reference, but they did not question Williams’ willingness to put the time into anything.
Starsia wasn’t sure it would work, but was eager to try. And while he was always a little nervous Williams would not keep coming back to campus — for summer school, for the fall semester of his freshman year, for the spring of his first season — those markers kept falling into place.
Regime change at Virginia also comes with a position change for Williams, who moves from midfield to attack — where he could put up big numbers in Lars Tiffany’s up-tempo system.
as much time as he can with his family. The fact he’s playing senior B box lacrosse instead of taking offers to play at higher levels shows it’s important for him to play with his brothers.” Williams didn’t grow up wanting to be a box star, and he certainly didn’t believe lacrosse could lead to a scholarship. But what he could do is play, rolling up five 100-point seasons at Silver Creek High School (he joined the varsity team in eighth grade) and setting national high school records for goals and points. Dom Starsia is a Long Island native, so the former
USlaxmagazine.com
Virginia coach was baffled when he arrived at the 2011 New York state semifinals to see a school he had never heard of had advanced so far. When the Virginia coach learned it had a guy who had scored “a bazillion points,” he was intrigued enough to take a closer look.
“I think they had 15 or 16 guys dressed for the game against a Cazenovia team with the Cannizzaros on it,” Starsia said. “They must have had 40 guys dressed. And you’re thinking, ‘What is going on here?’ It literally was Zed and all his little buddies. He never came off the field. He took every faceoff, he played man-up and man-down.”
Before long, Starsia visited Silver Creek. Williams remembered that even
though the Cavaliers were coming off a national title, Starsia and assistant Marc Van Arsdale spent much of the trip trying to learn about him rather than tout the merits of a school. “I really didn’t know anything about going to college and didn’t really have any plans until Coach Starsia got a hold of me,” Williams said. “That was all based off luck, and I was fortunate enough to meet him.” Starsia took a long walk
with Williams during an early visit and came away impressed and with the thought the midfielder might actually be interested in coming to Charlottesville. His instincts were correct. While many recent Native American stars landed at Albany or Syracuse, Williams
“I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but everyone here at Virginia — coaches, teammates, my friends, everyone I met, professors — they were all awesome and they helped me so much,” Williams said. Added Starsia: “He’s a magna cum laude of effort. What the high school people said to me that first day is what’s been the truth of it — that he will do anything you ask. I couldn’t believe how much we have asked of him during his career, especially on the academic side — tutors, mentors, study groups. He has done everything we have asked.” Even as Virginia struggled through a losing season that led to a coaching change, it was clear Williams was one of the program’s most valuable players. He had 22 goals and five assists, both down from a year earlier, but he made an impact on the faceoff wings as well. Williams’ 54 ground balls ranked second on the team. Tiffany’s arrival means
February 2017 US LACROSSE MAGAZINE 49
©KELSEY GRANT
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