After playing three consecutive games on the road in the last two weeks, including wins in the team’s first two ACC contests against then-No. 8 Florida State and Miami, the No. 10 Virginia women’s soccer team looks to continue its ACC success tonight at home against N.C. State.
While on the road, the Cavaliers (8-1-1, 2-0-0 ACC) suffered a tough 3-0 loss to No. 13 West Virginia before recovering to shut out Florida State 1-0 and Miami 2-0. Virginia coach Steve Swanson said he feels the Cavaliers are right where they need to be in order to be competitive in the ACC.
“I thought from Sunday to Thursday, when we played Florida State, everything we talked about, they executed,” Swanson said. “I felt we put in one of our best performances of the season thus far on Thursday to beat a very strong Florida State team at their place. I think it shows the potential of this team — that’s for sure.”
Senior midfielder Kelly Quinn said she believes the aftermath of the Cavaliers’ loss to West Virginia gave the team an opportunity to reconsider its vision for this season.
“I think we learned our lesson against West Virginia,” Quinn said. “I think we needed that. We can’t take anything lightly.”
Swanson said he is pleased with how the Cavaliers have been playing recently.
“On the road in the ACC, it’s hard to get wins,” Swanson said. “We feel very good coming out of [Florida] with two good results.”
Though the team is pleased with its two conference wins, Swanson said he knows the importance of not focusing too much on past successes.
Moving on mentally “is very important that when you play Florida State and you leave that game there, and you get ready for Miami,” Swanson said. “Then you play Miami and you leave that one, and you get ready for the next one. You can’t think too far back, and you can’t think too far forward. You really just have to stay in the present.”
The Cavaliers have had great success at home this season. After being away for a few games, they are ready to defend their home field.
“We’re happy to be home; that’s for sure,” Swanson said. “We’ve been away for a little bit, but it will be nice to be home on Thursday in front of our home crowd at our stadium.”
N.C. State will not be an easy match for the Cavaliers. Winning only one of its past four games, the Wolfpack will try to find its rhythm against the No. 10 team in the nation.
“The main thing about N.C. State is they are always an under-ranked team,” said Quinn, who also noted that she thought coming off two wins will make much a difference. “We just have to make sure we don’t take them lightly.”
While playing in arguably the best women’s soccer conference in the nation, even a game against an unranked ACC foe like N.C. State demands the team’s full attention and effort.
“For us, it doesn’t matter what ACC team we play, we realize that anybody can beat anybody on any given day,” Swanson said. “We have a senior enough group that understands that. Our first-years are certainly beginning to understand that. That’s really what it takes to do well in this conference.”
Although playing at home is something any team enjoys, the Cavaliers see home games as a key to survival in the ACC.
“We kind of have a motto,” Quinn said. “We don’t lose in our stadium — we don’t lose at Klöckner.”
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