Coming off of a 14-6 season-opening victory in Blacksburg last Wednesday against rival Virginia Tech, the No. 2 Virginia women's lacrosse team (1-0, 1-0 ACC) is setting its sights on today's game at Richmond as well as three matches week.
In last week's win, the Cavalier offense was led by senior captain and attacker Megan O'Malley and sophomore midfielder Brittany Kalkstein, with four goals apiece. Junior attacker Jenny Hauser and junior midfielder Ashley McCulloch also contributed to the offensive effort, each tallying four points. Kalkstein, last year's National Rookie of the Year, and senior goalkeeper Kendall McBrearty paced the strong defensive effort.
Richmond (1-2) is coming off two straight home losses, dropping the Spiders out of the top 20 after being ranked 19th just a week ago. The last meeting between the two teams in Richmond in 2006 saw the Spiders win 8-7, but the Cavaliers won 13-5 in last year's matchup in Charlottesville. Virginia leads the all-time series between the two schools 27-3-1.
"We need to make sure we bring our best effort and our attackers really dominate," Virginia coach Julie Myers said.
Last week's 14-goal output against Virginia Tech indicated that the Virginia offense is a threat to any opposing defense.
"I think we look awesome," O'Malley said. "Everyone is stepping up because we are older."
The Cavaliers will look to their captains, O'Malley and senior defender Claire Bordley, to lead the way on the offensive and defensive ends, respectively, against the Spiders.
"Being fourth-year kids, they've always been key players," Myers said of the captains' experience. "They've been through a lot of games and from an experience and work-ethic standpoint, they're great to have."
As always, however, leadership has to come from every player on the team.
"One thing our team does is we count on everyone to be the leader," Myers said. "We're only as good as everyone is willing to be."
This team approach will be put to test not only today, but also in the team's next three contests. While many students will be at home during Spring Break, the women's lacrosse team will be getting into the meat of its schedule.
Saturday, the Cavaliers will take on No. 4 Syracuse in their first home game of the season and their toughest test yet. Last year's fierce face-off, ending in a 10-8 Virginia win, is still fresh in the Cavaliers' minds.
Virginia will then travel to face ACC rival Maryland Tuesday. Last season, the Cavaliers beat Maryland twice, once at home, 15-4, and again in the ACC Tournament, in a closer 10-7 contest.
The site of Virginia's final trial during the break will be Penn State next Friday. In last year's matchup between these two teams, the Cavaliers dominated their way to a 13-6 victory.
The squad will look to defend its No. 2 national ranking in these four upcoming matches.
Myers said that the team is aware of the ranking, but noted that the Cavaliers "haven't earned it yet." Nevertheless, she expressed excitement about her team's chances, looking to today's game and those next week.
"I think we've got all the pieces in place," she said.
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