Last year, things were pretty rough for Virginia midfielder Kelly Hammond. Although she was just two months into her freshman campaign, the season was halfway over, and she had scored only one goal despite taking more shots than most of her teammates. Hammond was struggling with a torn knee that would hamper her throughout the year. On top of all that, her team had just suffered a loss at Maryland, Hammond's home state, to drop to 0-2 in the ACC
"We came out and just didn't play well and didn't finish opportunities," Hammond said. "It was especially frustrating for me because I knew we were the better team."
Things didn't get a whole lot better for Hammond after the sour hometown result. Her team underachieved, failing to live up to its No. 6 preseason ranking, finishing with a 13-7-2 record. Only two of Hammond's team-high 64 shots found the back of the net while, according to Virginia coach Steve Swanson, about a dozen of her misses hit the iron.
"It felt like almost every game, one of my shots hit the crossbar or post," Hammond said. "It was really frustrating."
This season has been an entirely different story for Hammond. She is currently second in the ACC in scoring, with 12 goals and five assists. She also leads the conference in game-winning goals with six.
"Last year Kelly was still getting comfortable with her role," Swanson said. "It's great to see her have the kind of production she was missing last season. She's always had the opportunities; the difference is she's finishing them this year."
Hammond was able to match her season scoring total for all of last year in one game this season. She scored Virginia's only two goals in the second half of the Cavaliers' one-goal victory over William & Mary Sept. 1. In an ironic twist, her game winning tally hit the crossbar before bouncing into the goal.
It could have been just a coincidence, but maybe scoring off the crossbar was the only way to break the curse of the iron Hammond seemed to be suffering from. Either way, the gods of the post and crossbar were silenced and Hammond quickly found the scoring touch that had eluded her for her first season after the win over the Tribe.
"It definitely helped me have a lot more confidence," Hammond said. "That definitely leads from one game to another."
Two weeks later when Virginia hosted then-No. 2 Santa Clara, Hammond notched the game-winning goal in the 4-1 upset rout. Later that weekend, Hammond found the back of the net less than 90 seconds in against then-No. 23 Southern California as the Cavaliers rolled to a 3-0 shutout win.
Only six games into the season, Hammond was already bearing the fruits of her off-season work to improve her finishing.
"I knew that I wanted to improve my weaknesses," Hammond said. "I worked on my shooting and stayed specific on what I needed to work on instead of just playing. I've been getting the ball on goal and keeping my shots low and that's helped a lot this year."
Things finally came full circle for Hammond when Maryland visited Klöckner Stadium two weeks ago. She got possession of a loose ball in the box and faked out the Terrapin goalkeeper to score the game's only goal.
"To beat Maryland was great," Hammond said. "I have a lot of friends on that team. Plus, it was a huge game for us."
As the Cavaliers held on to take their third ACC victory in four conference games, rain began to fall in sheets. The water seemed only appropriate on a night when Hammond extinguished the last of her firestorm of demons from her freshman season.
Read More
'The Måns Dahlberg show' is kicking into gear, just in time for Virginia’s title chase
By Thomas Baxter | YesterdayHe's one man during the first few months of the season, quite another in the final two.
TILOCK: The real Virginia baseball just stood up
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers' chronic issues are dwindling, and underperforming stars are ascending.
Dietrich’s comeback clincher sends No. 7 seed men’s tennis to NCAA quarterfinals
By Margaret Piatos | 3 days agoFor the 18th time in 20 years, Virginia is headed to the quarterfinals.
