Fresh off a narrow road victory against ACC rival No. 3 Duke this past Saturday, the No. 5 Virginia women's lacrosse team returns home tonight, hoping take down Old Dominion in the first of a three-game home stand for the Cavaliers.
Historically, the Cavaliers have dominated the in-state rivalry, as they have edged out the Lady Monarchs in 32-of-33 contests between the two teams since 1980. Old Dominion's sole win against Virginia, however, is still fresh on the Cavaliers' minds, as it occurred last April when the Lady Monarchs defeated then-No. 9 Virginia by a 13-10 margin.
With last year's defeat coupled with memories of the Cavaliers' most recent setback against James Madison last Wednesday, Virginia (7-3, 2-1 ACC) realizes that it will need to bring its A-game Wednesday night if it hopes to continue its state-wide dominance.
"[With] in-state [games], you obviously want to have the bragging rights for Virginia," sophomore midfielder Julie Gardnersaid. "I think after losing to ODU last year, we know that we can't take anyone for granted. We're definitely not going to do that this year. We just know that on any given day, anyone can win, so we need to come ready for every single game."
And Old Dominion (2-3) has certainly proven that it can win games, as the Lady Monarchs will arrive in Charlottesville having won two out of their last three contests, recovering from their 0-2 start to the season.
"Old Dominion actually beat us last year, [and] our team is pretty excited to get another crack at them," coach Julie Myers said. "But our hands are going to be full. Old Dominion is pretty talented, and they stretch you out a bit differently."
The Cavalier squad will have to be on the lookout for midfielder Lisa Bernardini, who is formidable both on the defensive and offensive sides of the field. The sophomore, who netted four goals in last season's upset by JMU, could pose a threat to Virginia's defense, even though the Cavaliers have performed well by surrendering just 10 or less goals during each of their last four contests. Thus fair, Bernardini has registered a team-high 27 points - of which 16 were goals and 11 were assists - in addition to leading in both groundball pick-ups and draw controls.
The team could have an easier time if it manages to score more than 10 goals against its opponent, something which it failed to do in its last two matches. The Cavaliers this season hold a 1-2 record for games during which they score less than 10 goals, and even the one victory occurred only by a margin of one point.
"We didn't score that many against JMU because we just didn't play well," Myers said. "Against Duke, [which plays] a different defense, we had to change our offense to be able to accommodate and combat what Duke liked to play offensively. I think there are other teams that we will play coming up on our schedule that play that similar defense, and I think we will only get better at that attack."
To produce a more impressive offensive output, the Cavaliers hope to see the newest member of the squad's starting line-up, freshman midfielder Caroline McTiernan, step up. McTiernan made her first career start against the Blue Devils this past Saturday and likely will see a significant increase in playing time because of a recent injury sustained by redshirt sophomore attack Ainsley Baker. The injured sophomore had tallied 15 goals for the Virginia attack and had nabbed ACC and WomensLax.com Player of the Week honors merely two weeks ago before recently tearing her ACL and will not see action for the rest of the year, Myers said.
Following tonight's contest, the Cavaliers will resume conference play this Saturday when they welcome Boston College to town. The opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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