Last weekend, the Virginia field hockey team ended its regular season with a bang. The Cavaliers notched two hard-fought victories on the road in an overtime win against Duke and a come-from-behind triumph against Yale.
But things are far from over.
In fact, the Cavaliers have completed only one piece of a three-part puzzle, according to coach Jessica Wilk.
"The entire season is actually three different seasons," she said, "the regular season, the ACC Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament. We focus on each one at a time."
Virginia (12-6, 1-3 ACC) will begin part two of their season today when the ACC Championships kick off in College Park, Md. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers will play fifth-seeded Duke (7-11, 0-4 ACC) at 3 p.m. in the first round. If the Cavs win, they will move on to the second round to face top seed North Carolina (17-2, 4-0 ACC) at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
The ACC Championships, however, will be no easy task for any of the five ACC teams. The top three seeds - North Carolina, Maryland (15-3, 2-2 ACC) and Wake Forest (16-2, 3-1 ACC) - also occupy the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the national rankings. Virginia, the next seed, is ranked ninth in the nation.
"I think it's going to be one of the most competitive tournaments we've ever had," Duke coach Liz Tchou said. "It's going to be like a national championship."
Wilk agreed, saying while the teams are tough, anyone can go home with the ACC title, including Virginia.
The ACC is "a very strong conference," Wilk said. "There's a tremendous amount of parity. On any given day, any given team can win. It just depends on who has it on that given day."
Virginia, however, hasn't had much luck so far this season. The Cavaliers are 1-3 in the conference and 0-5 against the nation's top five teams this season.
"We are a little disappointed with [the fourth place finish], and we feel that we let a couple games get away from us," Wilk said.
Juniors Jessica Coleman and Carrie Goodloe, Virginia's top scorers with 35 and 27 points, respectively, will lead the Cavaliers into the tournament game against Duke. Both picked up a goal and an assist in last weekend's 3-2 overtime win over the Blue Devils. Goodloe is fourth all-time in assists in the Virginia history and was named the ACC Player of the Week for the season's final week. Virginia also will rely on leadership from its seniors, goalkeeper Becky Worthington, back Julia Richardson and forward Lorraine Vizzuso, to make a deep run into the championships.
Duke, like Virginia, enters the tournament off a win over Yale. However, the Blue Devils have not forgotten their game against Virginia last Friday. On a game-winning shot from Goodloe in overtime, Virginia defeated Duke and grabbed the fourth seed in the tournament, dropping the Devils to fifth.
Duke hopes to turn things around with tonight's first-round rematch. Senior defender Courtney Sommer, Duke's leading scorer with 26 points, was held scoreless by Virginia last weekend and will need to step up if the Blue Devils want to advance.
"We're looking to play better than we did" last week, Tchou said. "Virginia's a potent team, and they have some really great players. We just have to make sure we come out strong and ready."
However, the real battle of the tournament should lie in the second round, where three of the nation's top four teams enter the bracket.
Tomorrow at 4 p.m., the second and third seeds will meet when Wake Forest takes on Maryland, the defending ACC and NCAA champions. The game will feature the nation's second and third-best scorers, Wake Forest's Jenny Everett (56 points) and Maryland's Rachel Hiskins (54 points). These two teams last met in late September, when the Demon Deacons pulled off a 5-3 upset over the then-No. 1 Terrapins.
Top-seeded North Carolina will start play tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Virginia-Duke game. The Tar Heels may have the biggest edge entering the tournament. They have won 12 of their last 13 games, including a 4-0 shutout of No. 12 William Mary Sunday. The Heels only have two losses this season, both to No. 1 Old Dominion. Senior forward Kristen McCann leads the conference and stands third in the nation with 23 goals.
One thing about the tournament is clear: Only one of these talented teams will walk away as the champion. According to Tchou, the 2000 ACC Championships is bound to be "the best tournament ever."
But no matter who takes the ACC title, each team will leave with another piece of the puzzle.
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