For the first time this season, the No. 8 North Carolina lacrosse team will leave the friendly confines of Chapel Hill.
Virginia looks to spoil that road debut and make it five consecutive Cavalier victories over the Tar Heels and hand Carolina a costly second conference loss.
UNC has already lost to No. 2 Duke, 10-8, in a tight game between the bitter rivals. North Carolina ended a two-game losing streak, however, with an impressive 18-11 win over Virginia Tech. Down 2-6 early, North Carolina closed the game on a 16-5 run to rout the Hokies.
Virginia coach Julie Myers warns that the Heels will be looking forward to avenging their loss in Chapel Hill last year.
"They're coming in wanting a little bit of revenge," Myers said. "They want to show us what they can do on the field."
The Cavaliers immediately followed up their disappointing loss to Richmond with a 14-9 victory over Syracuse March 1. They spent Spring Break reestablishing their dominance, with statement victories at then-No. 4 Maryland and at then-No. 7 Penn State.
With victories against Boston College and Maryland, Virginia is 2-0 in the ACC but appears to be getting stronger as the season goes on. The close early-season games, Myers believes, were necessary growing pains for a young team.
"We knew early on we were going to have some close games," Myers said. "It's exactly what we thought. We knew that we needed games to get our kids better."
Virginia's offense has heated up after lackluster early-season performances. Held to an average of nine goals per game in their first three games, the Virginia attack has averaged 14.5 in their last four matchups.
Senior All-American Tyler Leachman, recently named ACC Player of the Week, has anchored the Virginia attack, which has successfully incorporated many new players.
"We have so many people now and so many spaces to fill," Leachman said. "Whoever's out there is doing a good job."
Leachman has shared the offensive success with newcomers Blair Weymouth and Whitaker Hagerman, who have quickly developed into capable ACC attackers. Weymouth leads the team with 19 points, including 12 goals. Hagerman burst onto the scene with a five-goal performance against Syracuse.
UNC is led by senior Stephanie Scurachio and her team-high nineteen points, as well as junior All-Americans Kristen Hordy and Jenn Cook. There is no shortage of talent in Chapel Hill, as evidenced in their narrow loss to Duke. This year's Tar Heel team began the season ranked No. 3 before dropping two close games that sent them to No. 8.
The team is very much aware of the expectations on UNC this year.
"UNC obviously is a huge rival," Leachman said. "They had a close game with Duke, and they've been talked about a lot during the preseason."
"They're a very aggressive, very athletic and very fast team," Myers said.
Myers believes her squad still has only begun to reach its full potential.
"I think that we're still going to get worlds better," Myers said.
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