An opposing forward running free on the flank of the defense would be cause for concern for most soccer teams. Not the Virginia women; they know that attacker won't be streaking toward the goal unchecked for long. Ashley Meeker will get there. She almost always does.
In her two years in the Cavalier backfield, Meeker has shown a sublime talent for taking chances at right back and still managing to recover in time to cut off opponents' runs down the sideline. That's one of the perks of being the fastest player on the team.
"When she puts her mind to it, she can catch up to anybody," said fifth-year defender Carryn Weigand, who has earned a spot as co-captain less on her speed than on her smarts and toughness. "Her speed is definitely a great asset."
Not all of Meeker's heroic recovery efforts are by design. Sometimes her speed gets her out of a predicament of her own doing.
"Yeah, Coach [April Heinrichs] has told me I rely on my speed too much, thinking I've got more time [to close the gap] than I really do," Meeker said.
Forgive Meeker if she's occasionally out of position; she had never even played defense until she arrived in Charlottesville. In her senior year of high school, Meeker was the conference player of the year as a striker. Now, through the first 38 games of her Cavalier career, she has more yellow cards (2) than goals (1).
Heinrichs said she made the switch to take advantage of Meeker's speed, but also because the Zanoni, Va., native did not have much exposure to top-level soccer in high school and didn't have the level of sophistication needed up top.
"Coming here, she was able to compete athletically, but didn't understand the game as well as some of our other players," Heinrichs said. "Another coach might play her up top, but that takes a higher level of understanding. Ashley is at her best when she's pissed off, fired up and ready to go, because then she doesn't think too much."
As a rookie - not only to the Cavs but to the backfield in general - Meeker relied on her speed.
"Last year, I think my speed helped because I didn't always know what I was doing," she said. "My speed saved me more than one time."
That speed influences the way the Virginia defense plays as a whole. Weigand, stopper Tammy Westinghouse and goalkeepers Julie Harris and Megan Boehm can take more risks with Meeker as a safety net.
"It allows me to step up and take some risks in the middle," Weigand said. "I can step up and make tackles because I know she can recover and stop a forward on my wing."
Meeker's play as a first year earned her a call in June, asking her to leave that night for New Hampshire to train with the U.S. Under-21 National Team. As the third-youngest member of a team featuring the overflow of the U.S. Women's World Cup roster, Meeker didn't see the field much against competition like the Russian and Norwegian national teams.
"She wasn't ready for the Under-21 level just yet," said Heinrichs, who took over the team for a week while Coach Lauren Gregg was busy assisting with the World Cup team. "She needed to stay at the Under-18 level for probably another year."
"I didn't get a lot of playing time, but just wearing the jersey was great," Meeker said.
Maybe she can make more of an impact on the national scene next time. Not everyone has her kind of wheels.
"There's no substitute for speed," Heinrichs said. "You can't coach what she can do simply because of her speed."
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