In autumn, when the leaves change and the temperature drops, many college athletes risk faltering under the weight of increasing coursework, physical fatigue and other extracurricular responsibilities.
But for the second-ranked Virginia women’s soccer team, there seem to be no sign that the team’s early-season success will grind to a halt, with the Cavaliers starting off 5-0 and currently ranking in the top 15 in the nation both in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Virginia looks to continue its strong play this weekend when it takes on the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (3-2) Friday night at Klöckner Stadium and Hofstra (3-2) Sunday in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic.
The Cavaliers’ impressive start has been a quintessential team effort, with nine different scorers and a combined one goal conceded. The Cavaliers are the only team in the nation to tally at least three goals in every game thus far.
One of the main forces behind the Cavaliers’ fast start has been the play of the team’s nine new members — seven freshmen and two sophomore transfers — who have provided depth, energy and an uncanny knack for finding the back of the net.
“Biggest improvements I would say have been the incorporation of some of the first-year players and some of the new players to the team,” associate head coach Ron Raab said. “[We’re] starting to get the team a little bit more on the same page, connect and link on the field, and the chemistry of the team as the season progresses continues to get better and better as we play more games.”
Having scored two goals thus far, freshman forward Veronica Latsko has been a particular standout. Coming off a recent, severe ACL injury, her early-season success is particularly remarkable.
“She’s worked very hard to get back and fit,” Raab said. “She’s come in and brought a tremendous amount of energy coming off the bench for us and has worked really hard this first month, month and a half of the year for us and has started to really impact the games.”
Despite facing unfamiliar opponents these last two weeks in back-to-back Friday-Sunday matchups, the Cavaliers have seen definite success thus far. Though many teams might struggle with the strain of travel, the unpredictability of new opponents and the condensed schedule, senior forward Danielle Colaprico said the team merely sees it a minor obstacle on the road to success.
“It’s definitely a different look,” Colaprico said. “Our focus isn’t really on the opponent — it’s on ourselves and focusing on our style of play, which is keeping the ball. I think when we keep the ball we’re pretty much unstoppable. We never really focus on who our opponent is. We just focus on doing what we need to do as a team to perform on the field.”
The Cavaliers’ first opponent this weekend — the Lady Vols — present a strong team, with a dangerous blend of offensive firepower and defensive toughness. The programs have played five times, with Virginia leading the series 3-2. But Tennessee won the last matchup, in 2006 in Knoxville.
“Tennessee, I think, will be a good challenge for us,” Raab said. “They’ve had some success and they’ve played a pretty challenging schedule so far and gotten some good results.”
Currently on a two-game winning streak, the Lady Vols are a team brimming with confidence and likely looking for an upset. Tennessee’s undisputed star, New Zealand senior forward Hannah Wilkinson, ranks eighth in the SEC in goals scored. Additionally, Tennessee has allowed just .60 goals per game — a mark good for second in the SEC that tops even Virginia’s outstanding .61 GAA last season.
With several other teams joining the Cavaliers in Charlottesville for the Classic this weekend, Klöckner Stadium is likely to be filled and quite loud. The raucous environment will offer a stark contrast to recent games, coming back from a game at Samford played in front of only 284 spectators.
“I think it’s going to be a very different atmosphere,” Colaprico said. “We love getting a lot of fans. … I think the community has really come together to put a lot of fans out there for us. … I think that helps us on the field when we see people in the stands supporting us. We want to play better for them, not only ourselves.”
Friday night’s game will kickoff at 5:30 p.m. as part of a tripleheader of afternoon, evening and nighttime soccer at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers’ second game of the Classic will take place on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. against Hofstra.
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