The Virginia women’s soccer team will host the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic at Klöckner Stadium this weekend. Four teams will be involved, and the Cavaliers will play in-state rival William & Mary tonight and Dartmouth Sunday..
Last weekend, Virginia (4-0-1) played in the Georgia Nike Invitational, defeating Georgia 1-0 and tying Auburn 1-1. While the Cavaliers remain undefeated, and while beating then-ranked Georgia on the Bulldogs’ home turf was an accomplishment, a tie against Auburn was likely a disappointment for the Cavaliers. The tie seems to have been a consequence, at least in part, of a problem the Cavaliers suffered from earlier in the season: taking quality shots.
“There’s a fine line, because you want your players to be taking shots,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said following the Cavaliers’ game against Liberty earlier in the season. “You just have to make sure they are quality chances — they are quality shots, and they really have a chance for us to beat the keeper. You know, you don’t get any points for shots [that don’t score].”
Against Auburn, Virginia outshot the Tigers 24-7 and took seven corner kicks while Auburn had zero. Auburn’s lone goal came in the 87th minute off a highly-protested penalty kick. The Cavaliers also had a chance to match with their own chance at a penalty kick, but failed to convert when senior defender Nikki Krzysik was unable to find the back of the net.
The Cavaliers will look to improve their shooting accuracy against the Tribe (2-2-1) at 7 p.m. tonight. William & Mary’s weak record may be misleading; the Tribe will present a challenge for the Cavaliers. One of the Tribe’s losses was delivered by then-No. 9 Penn State, while the other came in a game in which William & Mary outshot Columbia 18-7 but was victim to an outside shot early in the game. The Tribe’s seasoned leadership likely will also prove helpful as the season continues. William & Mary coach John Daly recently coached his 450th match with the Tribe — a benchmark only five other NCAA coaches have reached. On the field, William & Mary is led by capable senior forward Claire Zimmeck, who has already four goals on the season.
Dartmouth (1-0-0), however, may not have that leadership advantage this weekend. Because of two game cancellations, The Big Green has only played one game — a win against Monmouth at home. For Dartmouth to succeed, the team will have to overcome playing its first ranked team of the season as well as its first away game. The Big Green will also be at a disadvantage having only played one game compared to the four or five most teams in the NCAA have already played.
Virginia and Dartmouth already had a chance to face off during the spring season. In the hard-fought match, Virginia edged out Dartmouth 1-0.
Once again, the Cavaliers will be playing two games they are expected to win. Unlike in previous matches, however, this time Virginia will be forced to shrug off an unnerving tie to Auburn.
“As soon as the whistle blows, it’s done with — you put that behind you — win or lose,” senior midfielder Kelly Quinn said. “We watch film, but it’s only to look at what we did wrong and put that toward the next game.”
So far this season, Virginia has managed to drastically outshoot its opponents. Converting these shots to goals more effectively could allow Virginia to dominate the competition.
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