When opportunities have knocked for the women's soccer team this season, it hasn't been home to answer the door. Throughout the season, Virginia has created ample opportunities to score, but the Cavaliers often have not been able to come through when necessary. This was the case in Saturday's 4-0 loss at Clemson where Virginia out-shot the Tigers, 21-11, but still ended up shut out.
"We didn't finish our chances," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "We also made a few mistakes and Clemson has the kind of forwards that'll punish you for that."
Tonight the No. 14 Cavaliers (4-2-1) look to answer every time opportunity knocks when they face William & Mary (6-2-1) in a 5 p.m. contest at Klockner Stadium.
The match originally was scheduled for Sept. 15 but was rescheduled following the tragic events on Sept. 11.
One might expect the Cavaliers to be coming into Klockner tomorrow night on a down note, but that's not necessarily the case. Despite the tough loss to Clemson, the Cavaliers did take some positives from Saturday's game.
"I think our performance in the first half was our best we've played all season," sophomore forward Sarah Lane said. "We had our opportunities, we just need to finish them off. That's the key, just finishing because we definitely had our chances to win that game."
Lane and forward Lindsay Gusick led Virginia on Saturday with five shots apiece.
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"We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities," Swanson said. "We had some wonderful looks. I was pleased with our effort and intensity. I thought we took it to them well at their place. We played much better against Clemson than our game against Florida, and yet we tie that one and lose this one. I honestly feel we we're making progress. I think that that score could have easily been the other way around."
Tonight's matchup with the 22nd-ranked Tribe should be a tough contest because both teams are competing for regional bragging rights. William & Mary also is hoping to regain its scoring touch after losing at home to No. 2 UCLA on Sunday, 2-0.
"It'll be very competitive," Swanson said. "These regional rivalries are very tough and that's what we can expect tomorrow."
"It's going to be a very hard fought game," Lane said. "They always come in here and battle us. We really want to win. One of our goals this year is to be best in the state of Virginia; thus far we've been winning those games. We just have to keep it up."
The Cavaliers shouldn't have trouble achieving this goal if they can just finish what they start.
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