The No. 6 Virginia women's lacrosse team will seek its fourth consecutive win against a ranked opponent Saturday, as the Cavaliers travel to New Jersey to face No. 13 Princeton.
Virginia (5-2, 1-1 ACC) is coming off of a 14-7 win against William & Mary, during which a season-high 10 players recorded goals. Freshman attack Charlie Finnigan and redshirt sophomore attack Ainsley Baker led the way with three goals apiece.
This performance further proves just how well the Cavaliers - who started the season by splitting their first four games - have put things together recently. Since March 7, the team has put three tallies in the win column, including one against 2009 national runner-up North Carolina.
"I think it's really funny because we were talking about how we didn't play our best," Baker said about the North Carolina game. "I think that could be scary for a lot of teams. Even though we won and beat the No. 3 team in the country, we're not to our full potential yet."
Nevertheless, Virginia consistently has tapped the potential of its young talent this season, and the effort seems to have paid off. Four of the Cavaliers' top six goal scorers, for example, are underclassmen.
Goalkeeping, on the other hand, has been handled by committee, as both freshman Kim Kolarik and redshirt junior Lauren Benner have seen time. Kolarik began the season as the starter because of an injury Benner sustained during the offseason. Benner has most recently started the last three games, all of which the Cavaliers have won. She is allowing a mere 8.64 goals per game, stopping 51.4 percent of shots faced.
"I think we've gotten better as the season has gone on, but of course, there is always room for improvement in everything that we do," Myers said.
Princeton (2-3, 1-0 Ivy), conversely, has struggled since the beginning of the season, with the team's most recent loss coming against unranked James Madison in double overtime.
This does not mean, however, that the Tigers do not have talent or should be underestimated by the Cavaliers.
Junior attack Lizzy Drumm leads Princeton with 18 goals and five assists on the season. One strong performance, in fact, was in her team's matchup against the Dukes, during which Drumm scored six goals before the Tigers ultimately fell 12-13.
On the defensive side, junior goalkeeper Erin Tochihara, a second team All-American last season, poses a formidable obstacle that could stifle the Cavalier attack. Tochihara stands between the pipes for the Tigers, having allowed only 11.2 goals per game this season while recording 43 saves.
"Obviously Princeton's a great matchup. It is always a pivotal game in our season," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "Not only does it come right at the midway point of a season, but it's also a great matchup."
Overall, the Tigers in recent years have played well against the Cavaliers, winning six of the last 10 matchups between the two teams. The series between them is tied at 14 apiece.
"We always match up really well against them," senior midfielder Brittany Kalkstein said. "It's always a really close game."
After playing Princeton, the Cavaliers will return home to play four of their next six games.
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