The Virginia women’s lacrosse team will seek its first win of the season on Wednesday as it travels an hour east to face in-state rival Richmond.
The Cavaliers (0-1) began the 2015 season on Saturday against Northwestern in Kennesaw, Georgia. 12 minutes in the second half, the score was tied at 5-5, but a Northwestern goal with three minutes to play gave the Wildcats the lead and subsequent win.
“They have a really great coach, and we know that,” senior midfielder Courtney Swan said. “She always comes in with a game plan, and she drew up a really great game plan for us. We definitely had the opportunity to win. We knew we had to hit our shots, and some of them didn’t fall.”
This will be the second straight game for Richmond (0-1) against a ranked ACC opponent. The Spiders opened their season Friday with a 17-4 loss to No. 8 Duke in Durham, NC. The Duke offense was simply too much for the Spiders, who only got off 11 shots to Duke’s 37.
Five of the Richmond’s seven losses last year came at the hands of non-conference opponents. Still, they were able to reach the title game of the A-10 Championships before losing 10-6 to top-seeded Massachusetts.
Like the Cavaliers, Richmond returns many of its starters — eight, to be exact — but lost the reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor Blazer. Blazer led the school’s best ever defense in terms of goals allowed. Along with current-seniors, goalie Emily Boyce and defender Erin Marie Geoghan, the Spiders only allowed an average of 7.83 goals per game last season, but against ranked teams outside the A-10, the Spiders allowed an average of 15.33 goals per game.
“I think our attackers just need to move the ball well, share it well, and create lanes for each other,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said. “The better our one-on-one game is, the better our passing game will become as well. I think we really need to feed the middle, but that middle really opens up when we drive hard from the outside, so it’s very similar to basketball where you need to be multifaceted — you need to get everybody involved.”
On the offensive side, the Spiders are led by senior attacker Emily Doyle and junior attacker Charlett Stevenson, both of whom scored at least 30 goals last season. The Spiders also return four other players who each scored at least 15 goals last year.
One of Richmond’s non-conference losses came in Charlottesville, Virginia in an 18-9 defeat against the Cavaliers. In the game, Swan led the team with a career-high six points on five goals and an assist. She also won five of the team’s 15 draw controls.
“I think our attack worked really well last time, and I was just in that ending spot to kind of finish the goal,” Swan said. “I think we moved well last year, and I think that’s just a big thing — if our whole attack is clicking, it makes it easier for everyone to get the shot in.”
Wednesday’s opening draw is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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