The Virginia women’s field hockey team heads into the weekend 2-0 (0-0 ACC) and ranked No. 11 in the country by the STX/NFHCA Division 1 Coaches Poll. To remain undefeated, the Cavaliers will have to defeat Vermont and Old Dominion at home.
Senior goalkeeper Amy Desjadon and sophomore goalkeeper Devon Burnley will look to continue their defensive dominance. The pair allowed only one goal total during last weekend’s two games, in which the Cavalier defense held opponents to just six shots.
Beating Old Dominion Sunday at 1 p.m. will be no small task for the Cavaliers, who currently trail the Monarchs in the series 8-32. Old Dominion has won the last 11 games in the series, and the Monarchs are currently ranked No. 8 in the country. However, Old Dominion dropped games to No. 6 Penn State and No. 18 Syracuse last weekend, by scores of 2-0 and 5-0 respectively. The Cavaliers also will have the added incentive of looking to avenge last year’s 1-3 loss to the Monarchs.
“We have to hit the drawing board first, see film, see where the breakdowns were, see how they got a shot and how they got into the circle,” Virginia coach Michele Madison said. “We are excited to play [and] that is why we practice.”
Virginia put on dominating performances last weekend against William & Mary and Providence, though neither school has as successful a program as Old Dominion.
Before facing Old Dominion, though, the Cavaliers will be up against Vermont. The game Friday will be the second meeting between the two schools. Virginia won the previous meeting last season in the Sheraton Catamount Classic 2-1.
The Catamounts lost their season opener to No. 13 Boston College last Sunday 1-4.. A win against Vermont will be less daunting than against a power such as Old Dominion. Regardless of the opponent, though, the Cavaliers will continue to take the approach of focusing on its own preparations, rather than focusing on the opponent.
“We will come out and run through all of our drills and we will mainly focus on what we do as opposed to what the other team does,” senior midfielder/back Lucy Myers said. “Just work on our basics.”
The Cavaliers will once again look to All-American senior midfielder Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn to lead the team on the field. Kaars Sijpesteijn will be seeking her first goal of the season after recording an assist against Providence. Additionally, Virginia will look for freshmen midfielders Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese to be crucial components of the team’s success, as they were last weekend when they accounted for three of Virginia’s nine goals during its two games.
The players have attributed their success on the field so far to Madison’s ability to create a cohesive team.
“I think she has made us mentally tough and made us really come together as a team which is what we need: chemistry between everyone,” Myers said.
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