The Virginia women’s soccer team will have no more second chances as it heads into the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday as the No. 2 seed against No. 15 seed Army. After a disappointing overtime loss to a lower-seeded Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament last week, Virginia was left with just six days to prepare for its last and most challenging undertaking of the season — one that could end abruptly at any turn, because every game for the remainder of the 2008 season is “win or go home” for the Cavaliers.
“We’ve worked this whole season to get ourselves in this spot, and we are here now,” senior defender Nikki Krzysik said.
Now in her last year as a Cavalier, Krzysik said she will reflect back upon her full athletic career as she heads into her last hurrah as a collegiate soccer player.
“It’s hard to believe that any game could be my last game here,” Krzysik said. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it isn’t my last game.”
Krzysik had been recognized for her talents as far back as her freshman year, when she was named to the ACC All-Freshman team as well as being third-team SoccerBuzz All-Mid Atlantic region. The following year, she was named to second-team All-ACC and second-team SoccerBuzz All-Mid Atlantic. Last year, Krzysik collected numerous first-team honors, including All-ACC, NSCAA All-American, SoccerBuzz All-American and was named to the preseason Hermann Trophy Watch List. This year, Krzysik once again finds herself on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, as well as the recipient of ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Krzysik has started every game of all four seasons she has been at Virginia, except four games at the beginning of her sophomore year because of international duty with the under-20 national team.
Krzysik and the rest of the Virginia backline will have to deal with Patriot League all-stars senior midfielder Sarah Goss and freshman forward Dymon Washington as they try to lead the Black Knight charge to the Virginia goal line. Dymon and Goss, the top-two Knight goalscorers, have combined for 11 goals — nearly half of the Black Knights’ offensive production on the season.
Although Virginia has doubled Army’s scoring output, 46-23, the two teams’ scoring percentages are even more revealing. While Virginia has struggled to convert offensively this season, having taken 372 shots to its opponents’ 108 but only scoring twice as often as the other side (46-20), the Black Knights have suffered from this weakness to an even greater extent. Army put 307 shots on goal but only managed to convert on 23 occasions.
“We really need to capitalize on our chances, and we’ve been working on that this week,” sophomore forward and team-leading scorer Meghan Lenczyk said.
The Knights will also be forced to deal with the home field advantage because Virginia has the higher seed.
“I think it was a blessing to get a No. 2 seed,” Krzysik said. “We’re so happy we’re at home for the first round. It’s hard to not look ahead, so we are just trying to take it one game at a time.”
In addition to garnering home field advantage for at least the first two rounds of the tournament, the relatively high seed means an easier path for Virginia through the bracket — in the beginning, at least.
“Last year we were [a] four-seed so we were up against UCLA,” Lenczyk said. “We were really excited to get a bracket we really feel good about [this season]. I think we have a really good shot this year.”
To win a national championship, Virginia must win six straight games, four of which could be on the road. Even during a season in which the Cavaliers have managed a 12-4-2 regular season record, their longest winning streak thus far is still just four games.
“I think there’s a little more urgency to what we’re doing — you need to recognize that when you get into the NCAA Tournament,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “We’ve set ourselves up this season for the postseason. We’ve got a lot of depth on the team and we’re going to use that depth like we have all season.”
Though the Cavaliers have struggled down the stretch, the team began the season playing like a national championship team, and the NCAA Tournament presents an opportunity for the team to refocus and find its footing again.
“We still have a lot to learn ... We haven’t peaked yet, and that’s what we’re working towards,” Krzysik said. “Hopefully we’ll peak at the right time.”
After finishing the regular season with a 2-3-1 slide, Virginia was eliminated Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament. For any type of success in the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers will have to finish their chances to the tune of their longest win streak of the 2008 season.
“We’ll do our homework,” Swanson said. “We’ll find out about Army as best we can, but in the end I think it’s very important that we play the way we’re capable, that we do the things we are capable of doing, that we play to our strengths and as much as possible, impose our style on the game.”
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