Coming off two straight victories against ranked opponents, the No. 6 Virginia women's lacrosse team hopes to make it three in a row tonight against in-state rival No. 18 William & Mary in Williamsburg.
But even with its recent success, the Virginia squad (4-2, 1-1 ACC) knows that it cannot take tonight's matchup lightly if it wants to collect its ninth straight win.
"William & Mary is a good team," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "They're feisty and aggressive. They've got some great playmakers and a pretty good left-handed goalie. We're going to have to fight for loose balls as we've done all season long. Draw controls are going to be huge, but Brittany [Kalkstein] on our team has done a nice job with that. Obviously, we're going to have to be competitive and tough [and] make our opportunities count."
The Tribe (3-2) enters tonight's matchup after an impressive defensive performance last week against then-unbeaten Navy. William & Mary surrendered only nine goals to its opponent, which was averaging more than 16 goals per game heading into the contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Tribe took 37 shots to just 26 by Navy - slightly above its season average of 30.6 shots per game. Senior midfielder and team-scoring leader Mary Zulty led the offensive attack for the Tribe, registering a hat trick for the third straight game in a row.
The Tribe looks to repeat this winning formula against the red-hot Cavaliers and earn its first victory against Virginia since 2001. Overall, Virginia holds the advantage in the in-state rivalry, winning 26 out of 43 matchups between these two teams since 1976.
The Cavaliers hope to continue their dominance after a 13-12 overtime upset victory against previously undefeated No. 3 North Carolina last Saturday. Redshirt sophomore attack Ainsley Baker provided offensive firepower for the Cavaliers with a career-high five goals during the team's debut at Kl
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