In Virginia's season finale Saturday, the Cavaliers picked up their first ACC win of the season against No. 11 Duke in a 5-3 victory at the Turf Field. The win puts Virginia in a tie for fifth place with Duke in the ACC.
This game was vital to the Cavaliers on many counts. The win over the Blue Devils (11-7, 1-4 ACC) will likely launch Virginia (10-8, 1-4 ACC) back into the top 20 in this week's STX/NFHCA Coaches Poll after the team fell out of the top 20 for the first time this season Tuesday. In addition, as the NCAA Tournament draws nearer, this game puts Virginia back on the radar of the Tournament Selection Committee, which has the task of giving eight teams at-large bids along with the eight automatic qualifiers.
"We knew what we had to do coming in," senior Abby Taylor said Saturday. "We had to win today to even be looked at for NCAAs."
Saturday's game was particularly special for Taylor and redshirt juniors Amy Desjadon and Katherine Bounds, who were honored in a ceremony after the game. After previously coming up empty in a rigorous conference schedule, the first ACC win of the season in the last home game for Taylor and possibly for Desjadon and Bounds was the perfect way to cap of their season and their careers at the Turf Field.
"It was very emotional," Taylor said. "I wanted to empty my bucket and not have any regrets. The second ACC win of my career is a great note to end on."
From a performance standpoint, the Cavaliers got some much-needed offensive output, since Virginia had previously been outscored 15-1 in conference play. On numerous occasions, Virginia's forwards were able to find gaps behind the Blue Devils' defense, resulting in breakaway opportunities, two of which the Cavaliers converted for goals.
"Duke is really high-press," Virginia coach Michele Madison said. "We tried to get it through the gaps instead of trying to take them on in small spaces."
Virginia was also able to capitalize on its short corners, which the team had been struggling with this season, converting just 10 prior to Saturday after scoring off of 26 set pieces last season. Saturday however, the team converted on two of its six short corners, once by sophomore Traci Ragukas off a rebound and once by junior Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn from the top of the circle.
"The kids know we just have to put it all together," Madison said. "This time, they were able to make it happen."
Virginia's defense was also outstanding for most of the game. With just less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Duke scored two goals in a 63-second span, knotting the game at two apiece and seemingly taking away Virginia's momentum. The Cavalier defense, however, locked down on the Blue Devils for the remainder of the game and was able to create turnovers that led to goal-scoring opportunities for the attack.
"The press has been coming on every game," Madison said. "Today we were able to get some goals off of it."
Perhaps the most important consequence of Saturday's game was the timing of Virginia peaking its performance. Teams in every sport talk about the importance of getting hot at the end of the season as the postseason approaches, and Virginia certainly accomplished that with its win Saturday.
"It's always important to try to ride the wave, and its how we did it that matters," Madison said. "To be able to create attack opportunities off that defensive press is the key."
Virginia will return to action Thursday when it plays Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
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