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No. 7 Cavs commence tournament journey

Battered in consecutive defeats, team savors opportunity for extended run

The No. 7 Virginia field hockey team will seek redemption at the NCAA Tournament this weekend with a first round battle against No. 10 Massachusetts in Durham, N.C. after ending the regular season with a loss and subsequently faltering in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

The Cavaliers (15-5, 3-3 ACC), who last made the NCAA semifinals in 2010, have presumably their best shot in three years to return to the Final Four after missing the tournament in 2011 and getting paired with eventual national champion Princeton in the quarterfinals last year. This year, the biggest threat to Virginia in the first two rounds is fourth-seeded Duke, the team responsible for ousting the Cavaliers from last week’s ACC Tournament.

“I think there’s pressure on everyone at this point,” senior forward Elizabeth Hanks said. “There are 16 teams left, and everyone would love to be in the spot that those 16 teams are in. At this point, every game is hard, and there’s pressure on every single team.”

Entering the tournament, Virginia lost two consecutive games for the first time all season, falling to No.1 and ACC Champion Maryland in the regular season finale before getting eliminated by the No. 5 Blue Devils (14-6, 3-3 ACC).

In its regular season matchup against Duke, Virginia won 4-3 despite allowing two goals early in the second half with a 4-1 edge. In the second meeting between the teams, stellar play by Duke sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Blazing silenced the Virginia attack for much of the game, despite a generally good effort from the Cavaliers as they fell 2-1.

“Their goalkeeper had an outstanding game,” Virginia coach Michele Madison said. “We were able to create some offense and put pressure on, but not enough to penetrate … We need to improve opportunities in the circle. In that game we were actually inside the 25 [yard line] 40 times, and only in the circle 14 times, but usually we get there 75 percent of the time.”

The top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament this year hail from the ACC, and the conference is the only one in the nation with all its teams represented. The Cavaliers have defeated six of the remaining 16 teams in the field.

But before the Cavaliers can even hope to take revenge against the Blue Devils, they must first get past the Minutewomen (18-4, 7-0 A-10) in the opening round.

“It’s go big or go home time,” Madison said. “The players can’t save anything, and I can’t save substitutions. It’s all about putting your best team out there and your best effort and getting it done.”

Massachusetts earned an automatic berth to the tournament after winning the Atlantic-10. The team has had mixed results against ACC opponents this season, defeating No. 11 Boston College 4-2 and falling to No. 2 Syracuse by a margin of just 2-1, but getting crushed by No. 1 Maryland, 4-1.

“Massachusetts is solid,” Madison said. “They have a sweet up-front and they move the ball well. It’s going to be a big challenge.”

Massachusetts ranks seventh in the nation in goals per game with 3.3, slightly higher than the 2.8 goals per game the Cavaliers are averaging. The Minutewomen are also allowing fewer goals per game on average than Virginia, but both stats may be moot given the much higher level of play in the ACC compared to the Atlantic-10.

For members of the Cavalier senior class, including All-ACC selections forward Elly Buckley and defender Carissa Vittese, this weekend could represent their last wearing a Virginia jersey. The current seniors made the NCAA semifinals their freshman year, but have not returned since.

“We’ve been to the Final Four, been to the Elite Eight, so we know what it’s like to make it far,” Hanks said. “Obviously it’s our last chance to make it even further. Our point of view is that this could be the year for everyone on the team, not just the senior class.”

Buckley leads the team in offensive production with 48 points and 20 goals, but the top three players behind her on offense are all freshmen. Forwards Riley Tata and Caleigh Foust each have 10 goals on the year and midfielder Lucy Hyams has 5 goals and 10 assists. Hyams was named the ACC Freshman of the Year on Monday for her performance this season.

“I feel like it’s a team award in a way,” Hyams said. “I’m only one part of a team and I know that I don’t run the team. It’s nice that I received the award, but I got on behalf of the other players as well.”

The Cavaliers face Massachusetts at 2 p.m. Saturday, and if victorious will face the winner of Duke and New Hampshire for a berth in the semifinals Sunday at 2 p.m. Madison, who is scheduled to be inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame next week, would become the winningest coach in Virginia field hockey history with two victories.

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