The No. 9 women's lacrosse team will hit the road for the first time this season to face No. 2 Maryland today and then will travel to No. 13 Penn State for a game Sunday. The Cavaliers (2-1) are coming off of an impressive win against No. 6 Syracuse after splitting their first two games against Richmond and then-No. 14 Loyola (Md.).
"This is obviously our biggest challenge of the season so far, but it's nice to be coming off such an exciting win over Syracuse," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "We've had a week to prepare for Maryland, so we've been able to use the last few days to really learn their tendencies."
The Terrapins (3-0, 1-0 ACC), who just defeated No. 5 Duke 17-4 last weekend, are returning every starter from last year's team, which reached the Final Four before eventually losing to national runner-up North Carolina. The Terps have a plethora of experience, boasting 10 upperclassmen in the starting lineup, including senior midfielder Caitlyn McFadden who paces Maryland with 10 goals and five assists. McFadden - recently named ACC Player of the Week - currently has a 27-game scoring streak and is among the NCAA active leaders in points and assists.
"They have the ability to attack from many spots, so they can be extremely dangerous," Myers said.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have significantly less experience than Maryland, with only 11 upperclassmen total. The team primarily is comprised of young talent - including freshman attack Charlie Finnigan and sophomore midfielder Julie Gardner, who each have scored eight goals this year - that still has not seen significant playing time.
Somehow, though, the team seems to be pulling it together, senior midfielder Brittany Kalkstein said.
"We just needed that first game to adapt, but since then from the past two games after that I feel that we have really connected and have been getting used to playing together on the field in game scenarios," she said.
The Cavaliers have a long history with the Terrapins. Maryland has been Virginia's most frequent opponent, as the teams have played 50 times during their storied histories. The Terrapins hold the edge in the series 32-17 and have won the last two, the second of which knocked the Cavaliers out of the ACC Tournament last season.\n"It's a huge challenge to be tested in this way, but we're excited for it," Myers said.
As for the second game of the weekend, the Cavaliers will take on No. 13 Penn State (3-1). Last season, Virginia narrowly escaped with a 12-11 victory in overtime at home. The games against Maryland and Penn State this weekend will provide an early indicator of whether the team will be able to contend for an ACC title.?
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