For the eighth straight year the Virginia women’s soccer team enters the season ranked in the top three in the ACC, a women’s soccer powerhouse conference. Although the Cavaliers are ranked behind North Carolina and Florida State, they are ranked No. 6 nationally. At the professional level, teams are able to lock up players with long-term deals, allowing one team to dominate a sport for long periods of time. Such sustained excellence is more difficult at the college level, though, because players usually do not remain on a college team for more than five years.
“I think every year’s a new team; you lose people, you add people,” senior defender Nikki Krzysik said. “I think that’s what this part of the season is right now: building and learning the first-years’ strength and weaknesses.”
The Cavaliers had a chance to test those strengths and weaknesses in two exhibition games against Notre Dame and Georgetown, adding a tie and a win to their record, respectively, before their first regular-season game last Friday, in which they defeated Loyola 4-0.
The Cavaliers have sustained their success thanks in large part to strong recruiting. Last year midfielder Sinead Farrelly, a freshman at the time, earned first-team All-ACC honors with a five-goal, four-assist rookie season. Between the posts, Virginia possessed another stand-out freshman last year in goalie Chantel Jones, who became a first-team freshman All-American. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Jones will be playing in the U-20 World Cup this year and will be unavailable to play for Virginia. Luckily, though, the team will be supported by another highly ranked recruiting class. The Cavaliers can look forward to two high school All-Americans as well as several youth All-Americans and athletes possessing experience with youth national teams.
“I think what we are working toward right now is coming together ... and incorporating the new kids in and fill in those spots of the players that we’ve lost,” Krzysik said, “We have people to fill the spots — it’s just now linking up.”
So Virginia has the players and the talent to be good, but how are the Cavaliers going to translate that into success on the field throughout the season?
The coach typically plays a significant role in encouraging new players’ growth, but with a team like Virginia, it makes sense that coach Steven Swanson uses his senior leaders to facilitate a smooth transition each year.
“I think we do a lot of things over the course of the year to encourage our team to grow off the field and to encourage our leaders to grow,” Swanson said, “[The seniors] have worked awfully hard during their time here: They’ve paid their dues; I think they know what the team stands for, they know what’s demanded, they know the standards, and I think they are the best people to impart that onto the younger players.”
Another way the Cavaliers succeed year in and year out is through the standards Swanson mentioned. The team expects and demands excellence from every part of the program. Not settling for less is a mindset that can motivate a team. If you ask any member of the Virginia women’s soccer team what the team’s goal for the season is, she will tell you the team wants to win the ACC and the NCAA championships. On a more specific level, though, in each game the Cavaliers want perfection.
“I think it was a positive in that we got the result,” Swanson said of last Friday’s win against Loyola. “But, although we had 26 shots, although we had 11 corners, I don’t know how many of those were really dangerous. There’s a lot of things we can improve on.”
Although their next game is against Liberty Friday, the Cavaliers will need to improve once they move into their conference schedule later in the season, where they will play other nationally ranked teams. The away match against Florida State and the home game against North Carolina will be especially hard fought. Even with this difficult schedule, expect the team to finish in the top half of the ACC and have a lengthy, if not great, post-season.
But if the Cavaliers fall short of perfection this season, just remember: They will certainly be going for it again next year.
Read More
Lacrosse defenseman Cole Kastner announces transfer to Stanford basketball
By Michael Liebermann | 8 hours agoKastner is reviving a hoops career that has lain dormant since he graduated high school.
Virginia gets second Notre Dame rematch in a dynamic ACC Tournament bout Friday
By Michael Liebermann | 20 hours agoThe Cavaliers will get a shot at redemption against a vaunted ACC foe, in a game with serious postseason seeding implications.
Mel Josephson and women’s lacrosse prepare to take center stage
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayJosephson's ability to perform throughout a game's biggest moments is crucial for the Cavaliers.
