The Virginia women’s lacrosse team ended practice Wednesday afternoon by yelling in unison, “Barbeque the Blue Jays!” The Cavaliers’ clever chant expressed a relaxed determination that belied the serious stakes of their Thursday night home game against No. 20 Johns Hopkins. Though Virginia sits at No. 11 in the current IWLCA Coaches Poll, every one of the Cavaliers, from coach Julie Myers to the last player off the bench, understands that their regular season now rides on its last two contests.
“I’m looking for a fight,” Myers said. “I’m looking for heart and just a desire to keep this going … [I’m looking for] lots of teamwork, sticking together and really just kind of fighting for the teammate standing next to them on the field.”
Johns Hopkins (7-5, 1-2 ALC) finds itself in similar straits. Last Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. the Blue Jays received a 19-9 shellacking from No. 3 Florida, a result which dropped them to 2-3 since March 19, when they began a run of six road games in seven contests. The team’s two recent wins came by one goal each against unranked Towson and Vanderbilt, and the Blue Jays needed overtime to dispatch the Commodores on their home field in Baltimore.
Virginia (7-7, 0-4 ACC) comes into Thursday’s game playing better lacrosse than Johns Hopkins but standing on equally unsure footing. The Cavaliers have alternated losses and wins in their past five games, continuing their season-long struggles against the country’s best teams. Since winning three consecutive games from March 13 to 20, Virginia has fallen to No. 9 Duke, No. 19 Boston College and No. 4 Northwestern while defeating Old Dominion and American. The loss to the Wildcats was especially deflating given the Cavaliers’ fast start. Virginia jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game before Northwestern stole the momentum for an 11-6 final score.
“Sunday was a really tough loss for us,” sophomore midfielder Morgan Stephens said. “We kind of needed these next three wins, and so winning tomorrow and then again next Wednesday [against Virginia Tech would] be huge for our season — like getting into the [NCAA] Tournament.”
Their middling records against top-quality competition aside, the Cavaliers and Blue Jays differ substantially in their style of play. Myers’ team takes care of the ball — they enter Thursday turning the ball over an ACC-best 9.93 times per game. Virginia, however, creates comparatively little havoc on defense — their 5.36 caused turnovers per game are a conference-low. Johns Hopkins presents an aggressive style of play, but one that has its downsides. The Blue Jays have forced 20 more turnovers than Virginia on the year, but their 193 giveaways dwarf the Cavaliers’ 139.
“Hopkins is a really dangerous team,” Myers said. “They’ve got lots of offensive threats; they’re not afraid to take some chances, and they’re spunky. And their back is against a wall as well.”
The Blue Jay attack includes six players with 15 or more points, the same number as Virginia. Junior attacker Taylor D’Amore poses problems for opposing defenses because of her ability to either score or find an open teammate to do so. The 2012 First Team All-ALC selection leads Johns Hopkins with 30 assists and 42 draw controls, and her 23 goals rank second on the team to junior midfielder Sarah Taylor’s 27.
Sophomore defender Octavia Williams sets the tone for the Blue Jays’ risk-taking defense. After a freshman season in which she appeared in eight games and recorded one ground ball, Williams leads the team in caused turnovers, with 13, and fouls, with 30.
“I think everyone’s doing well right now,” Stephens said. “We know what we have to do to win, so I think just executing in practice and then — how we play in practice — doing that in the games as well … I think we’ll finish the season well if we do that.”
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