In much the same manner as baseball, soccer can be a game of statistics. Goals, shots, saves, corners, fouls -- these are all stats recorded at every game and used to assess a team's performance.
For Virginia, it can be argued that the team's most telling statistic thus far has been offsides penalties, as the Cavaliers have caught their opponents offsides 36 times and have only been caught 22 times themselves.
Offsides, in soccer, means that a player is passed the ball when she is behind all 10 non-goalkeeping players on the opposing team. Many teams employ what is referred to as an "offsides trap" style of defense. But according to Virginia coach Steve Swanson, catching teams offsides is not the sole purpose of the defense he teaches.
"I would hesitate to call it an offsides trap," Swanson said. "Because our back four know each other very well and are experienced, I think they are able to step together quite a bit. Oftentimes that catches teams offsides. It is our intention to keep things compact."
By stepping together, Swanson refers to the act of all four defenders charging forward just as a ball is played to an opposing forward. When Virginia is able to "step" at the right time, the opposing team's player will oftentimes be caught offsides and surrender a free kick to the Cavaliers.
The defense Virginia uses is called "B-Strong," senior defender Jamie Fabrizio said.
"Usually we use it when [the opposing team's players] are within shooting range," Fabrizio said. "Right before the girl is about to kick it, we step together as a unit and all the people left behind us are offsides."
The Cavaliers have been especially strong in this technique in recent contests. Against Florida State last Friday in Tallahassee, Virginia came away with a 1-0 win over a top-five ranked Seminole team in part because of FSU's four offsides calls and Virginia's zero. In the game before that, the Cavaliers eked out a win over in-state rival William & Mary in what hardly seemed like their best performance. But despite the offense's inability to penetrate the packed Tribe box, Virginia forced William & Mary offsides eight times and never once found itself offside at the other end of the field.
Allowing a ridiculously low three goals in nine games, Virginia has been winning games behind the strong defensive play from the entire team. The back four's ability to garner offsides calls has played a major role in the team's ability to stifle high-powered opposing offenses such as then-No. 2 UCLA and then-No. 5 Florida State.
Tonight, the Cavaliers take on a Wake Forest team desperate for a win. Despite losing their first two conference games last weekend to Duke and Virginia Tech, the Demon Deacons are still ranked in the top 30 in the country and could cause problems for a Cavalier squad that has not played since last Friday.
"We can't get strung out and let [Wake] get behind us," Fabrizio said. "We just have to keep our shape. It's at their place. That's always harder when you go away. I think they are a good team. It's always a good game."
Beating good teams is something to which Virginia has become accustomed in recent games. But with nationally-ranked North Carolina and Clemson remaining on the schedule, the Cavalier defenders are not through proving that they are capable of stopping anyone. But then again, the numbers don't lie.
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