Confidence. If there's one thing the Virginia women's lacrosse team has, besides an immense wealth of experience, talent and tenacity, it's confidence. And it's no wonder why, considering several star players will return to a squad that stalled just inches from winning the national championship in overtime against Princeton last year.
But to assume that the Cavaliers, ranked No. 2 in the Laxpower.com preseason poll, are dwelling on last season would be far from the truth. On the contrary, last season's success has done nothing short of strengthen the team's poise.
"I think last season has given us a lot of confidence," junior attacker Cary Chasney said. "Just going into this year knowing how good we are and how far we can get in the tournament gives us a lot of confidence."
Joining Chasney on the attack will be fellow veterans Amy Appelt and Caitlyn Banks. The three will combine to direct the Virginia offense, which has led the nation in scoring for the past two years. They will also have to make up for the loss of two-time national scoring leader Laura Aumiller, who graduated last year.
Attackers Morgan Thalenberg and Tyler Leachman will also play pivotal roles on offense for the Cavaliers. Last season, Thalenberg was third on the team with ground balls while Leachman ranked fifth in scoring.
"I think one of the huge benefits to our team right now is that our attackers returned," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "I think one of our team's strengths is that we have so many different offensive weapons."
Defensively, Virginia returns an experienced group led by junior Elizabeth Pinney, who looks to come back strong after missing most of last season with an injury. She will be joined in the backfield by senior Lauren Keller, juniors Ashley Dodson and Molly Urlock and sophomore Nikki Lieb.
The experienced Cavalier defense will be backed up by senior Andrea Pfeiffer, who returns for her third season as a starter for Virginia.
"Defense is really important," Myers said. "It's great to have a senior goalkeeper in the cage. I think that leadership and experience should pay off well."
Aside from the solid group of experienced players returning from last season, this year the Cavaliers will also welcome several freshmen to their roster.
On attack, Megan Havrilla, Kaitlin Swagart and Kate Breslin will look to make immediate contributions to the Virginia offense. Havrilla won a world title as a member of the USA under-19 team this past summer.
"We have a lot of versatile freshmen on attack," Chasney said. "I think they're going to make an impact early and definitely add a lot of depth to our team."
Freshman Jess Wasilewski will add depth in the midfield, while Jessy Morgan and Erin Nagle will contribute to the defense.
Myers said she is confident about the potential impact of the freshmen.
"I think the first years can create their own role right now," Myers said. "I think if they pick up the pace and really push some things that they could be looking at starting positions as well as some great reserve roles."
The women's lacrosse season opens this Sunday at No. 16 Vanderbilt, a game the team hopes will be the beginning of a season which leads it back to the title game.
But the team knows it won't be an easy route to the championship. For the most part, the Cavaliers' schedule is composed of opponents ranked in the top 20, including Princeton, Maryland and Loyola, the three teams who competed along with Virginia in the national semifinals last season.
"We can't rest," Myers said. "And being one of the top-ranked teams, teams would love to upset us. We know that we are always going to be hunted by some really talented teams so we need to make sure that we're sharp and we play our best every time we step on the field."
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