For its last non-conference game before ACC play starts, the Virginia women’s soccer team will travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to take on the Mountaineers at 2 p.m. Sunday.
ACC play, which starts next weekend for the Cavaliers, will mark the toughest stretch of competition Virginia will face this season, with the exception perhaps of the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. However, West Virginia (4-1-2) will be an imposing stepping stone. Ranked No. 14 nationally, the Mountaineers will have strong momentum going into Sunday from their 4-0 victory last night against Pittsburgh. Currently on a six-game unbeaten streak, the only blemish for West Virginia was given by No. 15 Santa Clara in a close 2-1 game.
On the other hand, there is Virginia. The Cavaliers still remain near the top of the rankings at No. 7 and maintain a 6-0-1 unbeaten record. There is, however, no doubt the Cavaliers have lost some momentum.
“We’ve got to just keep working at it,” coach Steve Swanson said following the Cavaliers’ most recent 2-1 victory against Dartmouth. “I don’t think we have any false interpretations of where we are right now. We can be very good, but ... if we’re not sharp and we’re not focused, it can certainly show.”
Virginia started out its season steamrolling. It shut out its first three opponents, outscoring them 14-0. In its last three games however, Virginia has struggled. After a discouraging tie to Auburn two weekends ago, Virginia came back to Klöckner and won each of its two games 2-1. Though they were wins, the two games seemed to be emotionally draining for the Cavaliers.
“We kept shooting,” sophomore forward Meghan Lenczyk said. “Every game we get a ton of shots and aren’t capitalizing.”
For the Cavaliers to continue their dominance, they will have to find a way to convert their offensive pressure into points on the scoreboard.
“We have to be consistent for 90 minutes,” Swanson said, adding, “we’re not all there yet, but we’ve done some very good things early in the season. I think there [are] a lot of positive things, but we’ve just got some areas that we’ve got to hone in and do a little better job of.”
Lenczyk might be one of the architects of this effort. She currently leads the team in goals with six, having secured a hat trick in a game in which she came off the bench. She also netted the two game-winning goals last weekend.
West Virginia’s playing style appears similar to Virginia’s. Prior to last night’s game, the Mountaineers were averaging 19.6 shots on goal per game (compared to Virginia’s 23.3) and had only allowed their opponents to take 6.4 (compared to Virginia’s 3.1).
Two aspects of the teams’ play thus far, however, present a discrepancy. First, Virginia has managed 23 assists to West Virginia’s seven. This is most likely because of the Cavaliers’ depth of quality offensive players.
Second, West Virginia has been involved in many more close games than Virginia, which is what the game Sunday could become.
Whether the Mountaineers’ experience in close games becomes a factor remains to be seen. What is certain, though, is that the Cavaliers’ next game is an important one as they play their highest-ranked opponent yet and attempt to set the tone for their upcoming conference schedule.
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