“It’s our last game at Klöckner — maybe.”
These were the ominous words of Virginia senior defender Nikki Kryzsik as she contemplated Virginia’s weekend matchup against Duke.
Tomorrow evening the Cavaliers (15-4-3, 6-3-1 ACC) continue their NCAA Tournament run in the third round at home at 7 p.m. As a No. 2 seed, the Cavaliers have received home field advantage for their first two matchups against lower-seeded Army and West Virginia. If the Cavaliers defeat the No. 3-seeded Blue Devils (14-5-3, 4-3-3 ACC), they will face either UCLA and USC next weekend. Depending on who wins, the Cavaliers could relinquish home field advantage for the rest of the tournament.
“After the big game [against Duke] last time, after the two overtimes, we were kind of like ‘Oh, I wish we had five more minutes,’” senior goalkeeper Celeste Miles said. “Luckily we do get 90 more minutes to play them and see what we can do with that.”
During the regular season, Virginia’s face-off against Duke came down to a 0-0 tie even after a double overtime. Throughout the regular season, games that remain level after two overtime periods are recorded as ties. In the playoffs, however, while even scores after double overtime are still recorded as ties, a shoot-out is held to determine which team advances.
In the scoreless regular-season game, the Cavaliers outshot the Blue Devils 22 to 6, but neither team was able to finish any chances.
“I think Saturday is going to come down to whoever focuses more in both 18s,” Kryzsik said.
Just like before its first-round game, with seven days off, Virginia once again has had a considerable amount of time to prepare before facing Duke.
“It’s important that you keep your routine and that you work on things that are in your control,” coach Steve Swanson said. “I think the focus has been there and the sessions have been really good.”
Just like Virginia, Duke faced a bit of a slide before coming into the NCAA Tournament. After going 0-1-1 in their last two regular-season games, the Blue Devils lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament and were eliminated. Just like Virginia, however, they have recently been caught up in the one-and-done atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament and have thrived under the pressure. The stakes will be high against the Blue Devils; Duke first defeated Radford 5-1 and then defeated William & Mary 1-0 during the first two rounds of the tournament.
“Everything is much more exaggerated in terms of importance [during this part of the season],” Miles said.
Up to this point, the Cavaliers are 9-2-1 on the season at home, while the Blue Devils are 4-4-2 on the road. For the seniors on the Virginia women’s soccer team, this could mean their last game at home or even their last game ever as a collegiate athlete.
“We’ve played four years on this field in front of these fans and these coaches,” Miles said. “But I think the biggest thing is how close we are with our team. Klöckner is important, but I think continuing the season with our team is the most important thing. We don’t want that to end even if we aren’t able to play [at] Klöckner anymore. We just want to continue the chance to be together, to play together and to keep the season going.”
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