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(02/19/09 6:49am)
After two straight losses on the road to Maryland and N.C. State, the Virginia women’s basketball team travels back home and hopes to regain its footing against Miami tonight.“We can only dwell so much on past games,” junior guard Monica Wright said. “We just have to refocus ourselves in practice when it comes to defense and little mistakes we made in the past game.”The Cavaliers will look tonight to remedy one of their recent weaknesses — a lack of depth in the scoring department — against Miami (13-12, 2-8 ACC). Virginia tends to rely heavily on Wright, senior forward Lyndra Littles and senior center Aisha Mohammed for the majority of its offensive production, and it may need to share the ball more to pick up its sixth conference win.“Offensively, we are learning how to make plays when we need them, make shots when we need them,” Wright said.In the game against Maryland last week, the Cavaliers (19-7, 5-5 ACC) saw double-digit scoring from both freshman guard Ariana Moorer and senior guard Britnee Millner. In their most recent game against N.C. State, however, it seemed business as usual for Virginia as Wright, Littles and Mohammed combined to score almost three-quarters of the team’s total points. Wright, though, said she foresees a more balanced attack in the near future.“During the last couple weeks, I feel like a lot of the other players have been stepping up. On the offensive end, [opponents] aren’t focused on only two players. I feel like Ariana [Moorer] is definitely doing a good job,” Wright said, also noting that “Britnee [Millner] is doing a great job in transition — beating people off the dribble.”As the Cavaliers look to find an offensive stride that involves more than just their usual three-step approach, they also must prepare to contend with the Hurricanes’ athleticism.“Miami is a good team — very athletic,” Wright said. “They have one of the best freshmen in the country right now, [Shenise Johnson]. We expect a good game.”Johnson, who has started all 10 games this season, leads the Miami offense with a team-high average of 12.1 points per game, placing her in the top 20 in the ACC. She also is in the top 15 of the ACC for rebounds, 19 of which were offensive.“We are definitely going to play our game and focus on what we need to do,” Wright said. “They are a quick team so we are going to have to get up and down with them and try to limit their chances on the offensive end.”The idea of “playing our game” seems to be a concept that Virginia coach Debbie Ryan shares. Ryan tends to emphasize aggressive defense and rebounding as fuel for a fast-paced transition offense, which has led to success on many occasions. At the same time, Ryan has shown a willingness to make dramatic adjustments if necessary. Consider the Cavaliers’ win against Virginia Tech, during which Virginia made an uncharacteristic switch from man-to-man defense to zone. This switch led to 12 straight defensive stops and a Virginia come-from-behind victory.“Sometimes when you look at your team,” Ryan said. “You kind of know things about them ... I just noticed things that we don’t normally do. So I went to the zone, and when it worked, I stayed with it. I’m going to stay with something that works.” Ryan also was quick to point out, however, that she mostly sticks to her tried-and-true methods.“If it ain’t broke, I’m not going to fix it,” she said.With this in mind, look for Virginia to play its run-and-gun offense against Miami, as long as its defense can put enough pressure on the Hurricanes to allow the Cavaliers to stretch the floor.The Hurricanes for will look to bounce back from a loss at home to Boston College, and, if past experience is any indication, play a similarly fast-paced offense.With just four games left in the regular season, Virginia has a limited number of chances to regain momentum before the postseason.“We are just really focused right now coming off two losses,” Wright said. “We have just got to regroup and refocus ourselves.”
(02/16/09 6:29am)
The Virginia men’s lacrosse team found retribution for its 2006 season-opening upset with a 13-7 home victory Saturday against Drexel. After junior midfielder Brian Carroll snuck a shot past Drexel goalie Mark Manos two minutes into the game off an assist from freshman attack Steele Stanwick, the Cavaliers seemed unstoppable for the remainder of the first half, as they reeled off six more consecutive goals.The Dragons, meanwhile, failed to find the back of the Cavalier net until just less than four minutes to play in the opening half. Virginia entered the locker room with a commanding 7-1 lead at the break.As the second half of action got underway, however, Drexel made it clear that it was not ready to give up.“I thought our discipline broke down a little bit,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “I thought we took some fouls we didn’t need to. At the end of the day, we might have rushed a couple of shots ... We got in the penalty box and gave them a couple of those and we didn’t need that ... I assumed they were going to claw back into the game a little bit.”The five-and-a-half minutes of penalties Virginia served likely catalyzed the Drexel offense. The Dragons managed to capitalize on three of five man-advantage opportunities, including their lone goal in the first half.“I think we wished we had done a little better [on man-down],” junior defender Ken Clausen said. “I think they ran a couple wrinkles that we hadn’t seen before. Also a couple times we were two men down, and the goalie was screened ... Bottom line [is that] we can’t be man down as much as we [were]. That’s something we have to improve on. If they are getting goals on man-up, then we have to stop getting penalties.”Virginia, on the other hand, failed to score on any of the extra-man opportunities the Dragons presented to them, failing to capitalize on the 3:30 Drexel was man-down.“I don’t think our extra-man was particularly sharp today,” Starsia said. “We have an [experienced] group there. I expect that we’ll be better.”The rest of the two teams’ statistics appeared fairly even. The clearing percentages were nearly identical, and Virginia only managed to edge Drexel in ground balls 43-37, while winning just two more face-offs than the Dragons. One area that Virginia did dominate, however, was shooting, as the Cavaliers took 59 shots to the Dragons’ 23. Although Virginia only managed a scoring percentage of 22 compared to Drexel’s 30, Virginia took enough shots that the difference did not matter.“It’s just taking what we get,” said senior attackman Garrett Billings, who led the Cavaliers’ charge with five goals and two assists. “If the transition opportunities are there, we take them — that’s the most exciting way to play — but we can score the [settled goals], too.”Virginia must now hunker down and play its second game in two days, hosting Bryant this afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. It will be the first ever Division I game for the Bulldogs.“We don’t know anything about them, really,” Starsia said. “We at least will get ourselves mentally prepared and get ready to play on Monday.”Even though the opponents may be different and more challenging come playoff time, the quick turnaround presents an opportunity to prepare for the rapid succession of games seen during the ACC and NCAA tournaments — both of which Virginia hopes to be a part of.“Its nice to go through the routine of playing two games in 48 hours because hopefully in the ACC tournament or the NCAA tournament, we’ll have to do that,” Starsia said. “Whatever the level of competition, the physical requirements are basically the same, so we need to be able to turn around and play again.”After their first challenge of the season and with their second game today, the Cavaliers already know they must work on staying out of the penalty box and taking better shots. The one thing that cannot be practiced or coached, though, is already there.“I like the hustle that everyone is bringing,” Clausen said. “Everyone is flying around for ground balls. We’ll see if that’s going to lead to more penalties, but the bottom line is we have to play smarter.”
(02/11/09 6:30am)
It is the evening of Feb. 3, 2008, and the New England Patriots just closed out a season of what could have been the most impressive season performance in NFL history with a loss in the most important game of that season, thus finishing 18-1, just one game shy of perfection. This past NFL season, The Patriots and Tom Brady were spared the pressure of trying to go 19-0 and winning the Super Bowl — the only way to make good on the previous season, in which they were almost good enough — by the season-ending injury Brady suffered during his very first game back in action.For the Virginia men’s lacrosse team, however, this kind of pressure is real — and it does not yet have any injuries to blame. The dramatic end to its impressive 2007-2008 season came in the form of a sudden-death double overtime loss to perennial powerhouse Syracuse.“We were actually a very young team last year,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “I think among the four teams [in the final four] we were the youngest of those four teams. We only had a couple seniors who were playing an important role ... I was proud of what we were able to accomplish. I felt we played our best lacrosse at the very end, and that came against Syracuse in the semi-finals.”After trailing the majority of the game, Syracuse was able to level the score, eventually defeating the Cavaliers and ruining Virginia’s chance at a national title. Virginia, though, will get no respite from the pressure to find the championship it lost last year. Already ranked No. 1 before the season has even started, according to the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll, the only place Virginia can go is down — or all the way to the winner’s circle.“I think everybody understands — certainly everybody in this program understands — that everyone wants to be No. 1 in May,” Starsia said. “You don’t want to necessarily be No. 1 in February. But at the same time we are proud of the designation.”The same young team from last year, using only a handful of seniors in the key places, is now a year older and more experienced. This year, the Cavaliers possess a roster packed with 22 upperclassmen. Though last year’s leading goal-scorer Ben Rubeor graduated, the team retains many of the tools that made it a national contender in 2008. “If we are playing our best lacrosse we potentially should be winning the national championship,” sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton said. “Hopefully, it will work out every Saturday.”The Cavaliers look forward to the country’s 22nd hardest schedule, one which encompasses games against the other three teams in the ACC — each of which holds a top-10 preseason ranking. Before Virginia even makes it to the conference schedule portion of its season, however, the Cavaliers will also have to make it through No. 4 Johns Hopkins, No. 6 Cornell and Drexel Saturday, who defeated Virginia at home just two years ago. All of these potential hurdles come before postseason play and Virginia’s possible chance at a national title.“I think that I’d be upset with anything less than a championship,” senior attackman Danny Glading said. “But a more realistic goal is to come to practice every day and work hard. I think that if you take care of that, then the bigger goals that are out there — the ones you have to reach a little further for — they take care of themselves.”All in all, then, it seems many of the Cavaliers share the media’s sentiments that they will be the only team whose season does not end with a loss. The Cavaliers will have to put in the effort and commit themselves to building off of last season’s triumphs and pitfalls, though, to avoid the curse of being “almost good enough.”“We are a team and a program that needs to learn to play from the front anyway,” Starsia said. “I don’t think we shy away from it ... It’s the beginning of the long journey. We haven’t accomplished anything yet. At the same time, I don’t fret the fact that we have to be No. 1 in most of the preseason polls. I think we fully understand that this is decided on the field, and that’s about to begin this weekend.”
(02/06/09 7:22am)
Last night’s women’s basketball game between Virginia and Duke probably could be characterized as a slugfest. Physicality on both ends of the court and stalwart defensive play throughout the game ended up favoring the visiting team, as the host Cavaliers fell to the Blue Devils 81-67.At the start of the game, Virginia seemed to have found the kind of defense that would be necessary to beat a formidable opponent such as No. 4 Duke.“I think we were more than prepared,” senior forward Lyndra Littles said. “I thought we knew the scouting report, I thought we knew the personnel. It was obvious from [our] 13-2 [lead]. We were up for most of the half and then we kind relaxed up, and it just started to crumble from there.”As inspired as the Cavaliers played during the first 10 minutes of regulation, though, the next 10 minutes were just as discouraging. Virginia’s defense held Duke to only two baskets in 17 attempts with 9:20 remaining in the first half, but the Blue Devils switched to a full court press and Virginia’s frustration quickly surfaced. Duke took advantage of the Cavaliers, storming back to enter the break up eight points.Then, in the second half, the metaphorical wheels entirely came off what Maryland coach Brenda Frese had referred to as the Cavalier “freight train.” The same Virginia attack that dropped 58 points in a half against Maryland last Friday allowed Duke to shoot 65.5 percent from the floor in the second period of play.Possession after possession seemed to be characterized by Duke’s seemingly effortless penetration into an increasingly porous Virginia defense. Even when the Cavaliers did manage to force a miss, they failed repeatedly to secure the defensive board.“We didn’t get many rebounds,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “There were a lot of times when we got stops and they would get the offensive board. That was very deflating and very tough. We didn’t get many rebounds where we could just run.”In addition to rebounds, the Cavaliers also came up short in transition, stymying any hope Virginia had for a late game run.“When we did [get rebounds], we got out there, we got some easy stuff,” Ryan said. “But even the easy stuff we didn’t make. We didn’t make easy stuff tonight.”On the bright side, Virginia did manage to eliminate Duke’s perimeter shooting threat, holding the visitors to 0-10 shooting from beyond the arc and ending Duke’s 21-game streak in which the Blue Devils had scored at least one 3-point shot. The price the Cavaliers paid, however, came in the form of 48 points in the paint by Duke.Senior Chante Black “wasn’t the problem,” Ryan said. “Black had 13 points; I’m not worried about that.”While the 6-foot-5 center may not have hurt the Cavaliers in the scoring column, her presence seemed to affect the team in less obvious ways.“We kind of just gave up the middle penetration,” senior point guard Britnee Millner said. “I feel like we were focused more on helping and trying to shut down Chante Black a little bit that we did give up the middle way too much. We just never had our feet set.”Although last night’s defeat may come as a demoralizing loss, it also may contain a silver lining for the Cavaliers, as the team moves ahead having identified its greatest weakness.“We did not defend, and that is the only way we score,” Ryan said. “We score only when we defend and rebound, that is our game.”
(02/02/09 10:43am)
In the wake of an extremely emotional week in women’s basketball, two ranked conference rivals faced off Friday evening in John Paul Jones Arena. While Virginia coach Debbie Ryan, as well as other coaches and players from around the NCAA, dealt with the passing of N.C. State coach Kay Yow, Ryan was beset with another emotional experience as her then-No. 18 squad came from behind to beat then-No. 8 Maryland, 89-81.“It’s been a really hard week for me,” Ryan said. “I really can’t tell you what made the difference tonight. All I know is that my team was down eight at halftime ... We made a couple of adjustments at halftime ... and it just worked out.”Three Virginia athletes — junior guard Monica Wright, senior center Aisha Mohammed and senior forward Lyndra Littles — dominated with outstanding offensive performances. While Wright struggled during the first half on only 2 for 12 shooting, she found a way to finish the game with 28 points and five assists. Wright, though, despite her impressive performance, did not lead the Cavaliers in scoring. In just 31 minutes, Littles scored a game-high 30 points.“I was focused and I think the rest of the team was focused,” Littles said. “And that’s what I was thinking — we are not going to lose this game.”Mohammed, meanwhile, notched her eighth double-double this season with 19 points and 16 rebounds — as many rebounds as any two other players on the floor combined.“It’s like a freight train,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said of Mohammed’s play.Wright, Littles and Mohammed accounted for 77 of Virginia’s 89 points.“Between Littles and Wright and Mohammed, we had no answer,” Frese said. “They were physically stronger than us and they made us pay for it.”The Cavaliers, however, still had to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit; Maryland shot 59 percent from the field in the first half. When Virginia’s defense clamped down in the second half, it held the Terrapins to 40 percent from the floor.“We just really talked about the field goal percentage defense [at halftime],” Ryan said. “That was really the difference in the game. The turnovers weren’t that bad, [and] the rebounds were completely even at halftime.”One reason for the Cavaliers’ marked improvement after halftime was an increased presence in the post from Mohammed and other players.“I felt like we got our feet in the paint a lot better in the second half,” Ryan said. “We did a better job defensively and we rebounded the ball pretty well. I mean, Aisha Mohammed is a monster.”As the Cavaliers started to turn the tide, the team also started to feed off crowd noise.“It was electric,” Ryan said. “The fans have been so good to us this year. They have been just absolutely fabulous all year long. I know that they were really disappointed [after the loss to Florida State]. I told the team that we owed our fans a great game tonight.”Virginia continued its strong performance at home Sunday afternoon by routing Longwood. The Cavaliers topped the Lancers 88-50, benefitting from 17 and 15 point performances respectively from Littles and senior guard Kristen London.Virginia will resume conference play Thursday, when the Cavaliers tip off against Duke in JPJ at 7 p.m.
(01/26/09 5:47am)
The Cavaliers were unable to overcome a second-half scoring drought against the Seminoles down the stretch — falling to Florida State 80-75 in John Paul Jones Arena Friday night.With 18 seconds left in the game, Virginia came out of a timeout down by 3 points to Florida State and prepared to inbound the ball at half court.“There [are] only two things you can do there,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “Try to get the 3 [points] the old fashioned way ... and then we had a weak side player ready to shoot the three.”Senior forward Lyndra Littles was that player on the far side of the court ready to shoot from behind the arc, already three for four from 3-point territory on the night. The play, however, went the other direction, as the ball was inbounded and passed inside to senior center Aisha Mohammed. After Mohammed missed her shot, junior guard Monica Wright wrestled down the offensive rebound and followed it back in with a 2-point jumper inside the paint.Though there was a lot of contact on the shot, no foul was called, and the Cavaliers would have to settle for a two that cut the lead to 1 with 12 seconds left. “To go for a three at 17 seconds — you don’t need to,” Ryan said. “There is plenty of time, you can foul people all day between 17 seconds and 8 seconds, and you are still in a good position. So we could have played foul, two, foul, two, foul, two.”Unfortunately for Virginia, when Florida State went six for six in its last six attempts from the stripe, it could not make up any ground on the lead the Seminoles had built up during the course of the second half.“I’m proud of the way our team came out in the second half,” Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. “I felt like Virginia really had their way in the first half — they really played the way they wanted to play. It wasn’t until the second half that we started to play our style of basketball.”Though the first half might have been “Virginia-style basketball” from the Seminole point of view, the scoreboard indicated an even game at 38-38, although it took a last-second, banked 3-point shot from Florida State to level the game before the first period ended.And despite Semrau’s comments regarding the style of play in the second half, the Seminoles’ scoring attack was aided by the unlikely 3-point shooting they managed against Virginia.“We did take advantage of [the 3-point shooting], but it’s not our game plan,” Semrau said.It seemed Virginia, too, was not expecting this long-range shooting from Florida State, allowing it to shoot 10 for 21 from behind the arc.“I think it was definitely lack of execution on our part,” Wright said. “We were definitely prepared for them. We knew exactly who their shooters were. They hit their shots when they needed them.”With the win, Florida State moves to an impressive 5-0 start in the ACC, while Virginia falls to 2-2 in the ACC and 2-3 against ranked opponents.“We shouldn’t have losses like this at home,” Wright said, “but it happens, and we are just going to have to get better.”
(01/23/09 6:48am)
The Virginia women’s basketball team will continue its up-and-down season tonight, taking on No. 22 Florida State in John Paul Jones Arena at 7. The Cavaliers are 2-2 against ranked opponents this season.Thus far this season, Virginia’s only ACC loss was delivered by No. 2 North Carolina in a 103-74 embarrassment last week. The Cavaliers, however, managed to rebound from the defeat with a 6-point victory Wednesday against Virginia Tech.Free throws played an important role in both the North Carolina and Virginia Tech contests and could continue to do so in future conference matchups. Against the Tar Heels, Virginia went 1-8 from the charity stripe in the first half and entered the break down by 9 points.“This whole week we focused on free throws because obviously, in the last game against UNC, we went 1-8 to start the half,” senior forward Lyndra Littles said. “So Coach [Debbie] Ryan threw a few little schemes in there to hit free throws.”Against the Hokies, the Cavaliers managed to reverse their fortunes from the line, as Littles made all eight of her final free throws to secure the team’s victory. Since returning to Virginia’s active lineup, Littles has averaged 20.2 points and 6.6 rebounds while picking up 15 steals in just four starts.The matchup against Virginia Tech also saw excellent defensive play from sophomore forward Kelly Hartig, who racked up two blocks and four steals in the contest. A starter in all of the Cavaliers’ 18 games, the sophomore has tallied 11 blocks and nine steals on the season.As Virginia gears up to face Florida State, however, it will need strong play from all positions and all aspects of the game if it wishes to combat the experience and all-around strength of the Seminoles, who return six upperclassmen from last year’s roster. In its most recent home matchup against conference foe Georgia Tech, Florida State was impressive on the defensive end of the floor. Seminole junior forward Jacinta Monroe garnered ACC Player of the Week honors by blocking nine shots in the game, a school record. Florida State has been strong off the glass all year, out-rebounding its opponents an average of 42.8 to 34.2 a game, and against the Yellow Jackets, the Seminoles also managed to force 27 turnovers.The team has put together a seven-game win streak and possesses an unblemished conference record of 4-0.“I think Florida State’s an excellent basketball team,” Ryan said. “They’re very, very athletic, they have a lot of players back, and they have a great inside-outside combination. They’re going to be very tough.”
(01/21/09 7:05am)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A Cavalier 3-point play followed by two straight 3-point jumpers meant 9 points in 27 seconds for Virginia during the waning minutes of last night’s game against Maryland. These efforts would prove to be too little, too late for the embattled Cavaliers to come back from a 15-point half-time deficit, however, as they fell 84-78 for their third consecutive conference loss.“It’s obviously not going to be a situation that’s [conducive] to winning when you dig a hole as we did,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.While Virginia (7-8, 1-3 ACC) played a strong second half, out-scoring Maryland by 9 points after the break, failure to execute during the last 10 minutes of the first half proved enough to overwhelm any efforts of a recovery.“When you get down, especially on the road, and work your way back, you expend so much energy that you don’t have the physical or mental capability to finish the deal off,” Leitao said.The Cavaliers became steeped in foul trouble during the beginning of the game. Putting the Terrapins into the bonus after just nine minutes of play, freshman center Assane Sene and sophomore forward Mike Scott were both forced to sit with two fouls each, leaving junior center Jerome Meyinsse to become the lone presence in the frontcourt for significant first-half minutes.Both teams, it seemed, struggled to find a groove at the start of the game. A 3-point shot from Maryland junior guard Eric Hayes with 3:44 left in the half, however, gave a spark to the Maryland offensive effort. The Cavaliers could do nothing to stop the hemorrhaging as they proceeded to allow the Terrapins to go on a 10-2 run and open up a 15-point lead at the break.“We weren’t aggressive ... and if we weren’t aggressive they took advantage of it,” junior forward Jamil Tucker said.The 9-to-1 steal deficit Virginia suffered in the first half was a mark of this lack of aggressiveness. Maryland took advantage of this, capitalizing on Virginia’s 13 turnovers while scoring 16 unanswered transition points in the first period.The Cavaliers were upset with the “easy buckets that we gave them,” junior guard Solomon Tat said. “It was kind of frustrating so we just decided as a team that individually we’d go out there and man-up and get some stops.”Virginia managed to slow the pace of the game at the start of the second half, quickly cutting the lead to 10 just three minutes in. Scott and Sene returned to the court and allowed the Cavaliers to exploit an advantage in the frontcourt.“The point of emphasis on offense was to play below 15 feet,” Leitao said. “Either through getting the ball in the paint off the dribble ... off a post touch ... or on the offensive glass there are certain ways you can make a defense pay.”Scott continued to assert himself inside for the rest of the game, drawing fouls and finishing the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.Simultaneously, Leitao made thorough use of his bench during the game. In addition to extracting 42 points from his bench, he was able to augment efforts on the other side of the ball by using Tat as a defensive specialist.“Defense is one of my strengths, and the coach is aware of that,” Tat said. “At some point in the game when we needed a stop he trusted me to go in and play some [defense]. It’s not just for me to go out there but also trying to help some of teammates so they will pick up the pace on the defensive side.”Virginia continued to slowly chip away at the Terrapin lead throughout the second half, clamping down on the transition points that had boosted Maryland’s lead in the first half. But with seemingly countless disadvantages stacked against them, including pristine free-throw shooting by the Terrapins down the stretch, the Cavaliers came up just 6 points shy of a come-from-behind road win in the ever-challenging ACC.“It’s stressful,” Tucker said. “Being down 15 at the half is always a problem. We are already down and we are on the road — so that’s just mind-boggling.”
(01/16/09 9:16am)
After the Virginia men’s basketball team’s struggle against North Carolina last night at John Paul Jones Arena, the women’s team will get its chance against the Tar Heels Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C. These Tar Heels, unlike their male counterparts, boast an undefeated record that has earned them a No. 2 national ranking.“We look forward to playing in these types of games because these are the types of games that define who we are as a team and our character,” Virginia junior guard Monica Wright said.On top of the pressure of playing on the road, North Carolina (18-0, 2-0 ACC) will be the highest-ranked opposition the No. 14 Cavaliers (14-2, 1-0 ACC) have faced so far this season.“There aren’t a lot of weaknesses with this team,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “[It is] a very good defensive team, but I think you have to get through [its] first line of defense to be able to score. And you have to be able to handle [its] pressure.”Ryan likely refers to making use of Virginia’s strong frontcourt, which has recently been augmented by the addition of senior forward Lyndra Littles back to the lineup. After sitting out the team’s first nine games because of academic reasons, Littles is averaging 19 points per game and has already accumulated four blocks and 48 rebounds in seven games. Senior center Aisha Mohammed is continuing the dominance she displayed at the beginning of the season inside; she is only a few rebounds shy of averaging a double-double in the games she has played, with 12.8 points and 9.3 boards per game.To see dividends from these two players, however, Virginia will have to rely on a backcourt to distribute the ball. Senior guard Britnee Millner and freshman guard Arianna Moorer fill the team’s point guard role. The tandem’s assist-to-turnover ratio is currently not in their favor, but the two have already combined for 48 steals on the season. As the two guards push the ball up the court, they will be forced to contend with one of the faster-paced offenses in the country.North Carolina “wants it to be a 100-possession game,” Ryan said. “We’re not quite the 100-possession game team, but we are close to it.”Though the teams have many similarities, Ryan said, Virginia will have to play its strengths without letting North Carolina taking advantage of its own.“We have to be able to neutralize their running game, yet take advantage of ours,” Ryan said. “But we don’t want to be going so fast that we neutralize our own running game ... We want to be going fast, but not too fast.”To cope with the dynamic style of play Virginia expects from the Tar Heels, Ryan has been stressing fundamentals.“UNC is a type of team that is like us,” Wright said. “The [players] like to run. They are very strong in transition; they are very quick and they’re a big team. So we have to be disciplined on the defensive end as well as rebounding.”The Cavaliers will, as always, rely on the outstanding play of Wright, who leads the ACC in points with 21.9 points per game. Wright also leads the team in steals with 56 and is looking to lead her team to its first victory against North Carolina in 12 meetings.“You want to have as much excitement and enthusiasm as you can,” Wright said. “But you want to harness it and be able to focus and know when to bring it on and when to turn it off.”
(12/03/08 6:21am)
After finishing the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Classic 2-1 last weekend, Virginia is ready to travel to Champaign, Ill. to take on the Fighting Illini.The Cavaliers (5-2) will seek to rebound tomorrow night, having fallen from No. 15 to No. 19 with their loss to Gonzaga last weekend.“Our mindset in the beginning of the game wasn’t where it should have been,” freshman forward Chelsea Shine said. “We knew we were the better team so we just sort of expected to walk in like that.”While the Cavaliers had trouble overcoming a lack of focus, fatigue also may have affected Virginia’s play against Gonzaga. Virginia played two games in as many days leading up to Sunday’s matchup against the Bulldogs. After soundly defeating Utah Friday, the Cavaliers had to come from behind 14 points to defeat Marquette Saturday.“This is sort of the same exact thing we saw at the Tennessee game,” Shine said. “We came off of a huge win, and although Marquette wasn’t as big of a win as the win over Tennessee, we had a huge comeback. It was an awesome win — we were all excited that we came back, battled back and won. As you saw after the Tennessee game — the [Old Dominion] game — it was rough. So unfortunately we saw a repeat of that.”After arguably its biggest win of the season against then-No. 5 Tennessee, Virginia came out flat in the next game against then-No. 25 Old Dominion. After playing in two emotionally charged games, Virginia faced another tough team in Gonzaga and fell to the Bulldogs 62-69. The Cavaliers must now bounce back from the loss to come out strong against Illinois (3-4) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.“We are working on it right now,” senior center Aisha Mohammed said. “We are doing some defense and trying to know their plays so we can be able to stop them. Tomorrow, we are going to go over it again and work more defensively on how to stop them inside the perimeter and outside.”Mohammed has established herself as a presence in the post so far this season, accruing four double-doubles in just seven games. Second on the team in scoring, Mohammed has been able to average a double-double during the entire span with 13 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.“In the summertime I worked with my coach on posting and on rebounding,” she said. “I know if I’m playing I’m going to have two people, three people double- and triple-teaming me so I’ve learned to pass from inside when I’m getting doubled.”As teams start to plan for Mohammed’s dominance in the paint, working an offense from the inside-out and passing to the Cavaliers’ perimeter players may prove more effective. Freshmen guards Arianna Moorer and Whitny Edwards are averaging 8.1 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.“Right now, we’re not thinking about any games forward,” Mohammed said, “We’re taking it one game at a time, one step at a time.”
(11/25/08 10:20am)
After what could turn out to be the toughest road stint of the Virginia women’s basketball season, during which the Cavaliers faced then-No. 5 Tennessee and then-No. 24 Old Dominion, Virginia earned a respite in the form of a home game against a relatively softer opponent last night. In a matchup against Colorado, Virginia managed a 2-1 scoring advantage for most of the first half and continued its scoring dominance for the entirety of regulation to trounce the Buffaloes 77-43.Freshman forward Chelsea Shine came off the bench to lead the Virginia scoring attack. In her first four games as a Cavalier, Shine averages 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.“I thought she was a very good player in high school,” coach Debbie Ryan said. “I thought she would struggle a little bit on this level, but it has proven to be a very easy transition. She can score. She can flat-out score.”At this point, Shine still comes off the bench, however, because Ryan expects improvement from the forward on both ends of the floor as the season progresses.“She looks great to [fans] because she plays offense, but the bottom line is you have to be able to defend — and that’s where she has the longest way to go right now,” Ryan said. “She just has to learn the nuances of the defensive end of the court and put some more rebounds on the board, and I think she is in good shape.”Shine earned 23 minutes of playing time in last night’s game, where time for starters was already truncated because of Virginia’s massive lead, but she seems aware of the weaknesses that require attention on her part to become a more complete collegiate player.“I need to get better when [teams] screen, whether we are trapping or hedging ... I need to get better doing that,” Shine said. “I have a hard time when I close out. Defenders will go take that quick dribble and go right by me ... Defense is definitely the main focus, because defense fuels offense.”Offensively, four players scored in double digits to bring the Cavaliers to at least the 70-point mark for the fourth time in their first four games.“I think what really makes me feel good is that I didn’t have to rely on [junior guard Monica Wright] for an ungodly [amount] of scoring,” Ryan said. “To me that’s the best thing that I see here. Other players are stepping up and scoring and putting the ball in the basket for us.”More impressive than Virginia’s offensive performance was the Cavaliers’ play on the other end of the court. A stalwart Cavalier defense held the Buffaloes to just 20 points in the first half and 25 percent shooting from the floor. While senior center Aisha Mohammed contributed 10 points to Virginia’s offensive effort, she made her presence felt defensively tallying two blocks and snatching seven of her 14 rebounds off the opponents’ glass.“Coach [Ryan] was saying that we all have to go out for the game and get more rebounds,” Mohammed said. “We have to play good defense. We should not and can not focus on the offense alone.”The Virginia players answered Ryan’s ambition resoundingly with three double-doubles in the scoring and rebounding departments.As the Cavaliers head into what Ryan called a “really tough road trip,” Virginia hopes to shore up a backcourt that was decimated during the offseason. In 2008, point guard Sharnee Zoll, the ACC’s all-time assist leader, graduated. Junior point guard Paulisha Kellum then took up Zoll’s mantle, but her season ended before it even began when Kellum tore her ACL prior to the first game. Ball distribution responsibility fell squarely on the shoulders of freshman Ariana Moorer, who has thus far assumed the role with a Zoll-esque 4.7 assists per game.“I’m definitely trying to use some of [Zoll’s] stuff,” said Moorer. “I’m definitely trying to do a little bit of her and me too at the same time. We’re just pushing the ball up the court and looking for open people.”Going into the season Virginia was No. 15 in the country. After four games, two of which were on the road against ranked opponents, the Cavaliers have performed up to preseason expectations — only slipping one spot in the polls after the first three games. With a three-day Thanksgiving throwdown in Milwaukee, Wisc. against solid opposition in the upcoming WBCA Classic, however, the team in orange and blue will once again face a test of its resilience.“That’s definitely something we are going to have to be ready for this upcoming week,” Shine said. “It was nice to come home. It was nice to bounce back from [Old Dominion], which was a huge learning experience for everyone. I think we can go in a lot more confident now this week.”
(11/24/08 5:00am)
“I think our effort was there tonight,” senior midfielder/defender Nikki Krzysik said. “You are always going to have one of those games where your touch is off. It’s unfortunate that tonight ... we were on that side.”Krysik and the Virginia women’s soccer team ended their 2008 season last night with a 2-0 lost to Duke in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.“It was obviously a disappointing loss for us,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “I feel bad for our kids — I thought they put in a hell of an effort. Unfortunately things just didn’t go our way today.”The match took place on the Cavaliers’ home turf, Klöckner Stadium — an advantage Virginia earned by virtue of being the higher seed. The game was a rematch of a regular-season contest that ended in a 0-0 draw and in which the Cavaliers outshot the Blue Devils 22-6. Last night Virginia earned another a significant shooting advantage, outshooting Duke 15-4, but could not capitalize on it. “Obviously U.Va. is a great program,” Duke coach Robbie Church said. “[Swanson] does a fantastic job year in and year out. Defensively you can look at shot count and it’s very deceiving. Quality shots is what we are looking at. We know against a team like Virginia we aren’t going to get a ton of shots. But we have to be ready.”This contest marks the fourth time the Blue Devils have eliminated the Cavaliers from the NCAA Tournament.“Statistics aside, we did a lot of good things,” Swanson said. “At the end of the day, that first goal was against the run of play. The second goal was a little half chance she buried. Just disappointing to go out the way we did — on our home field — it stings a little bit.”The first goal came from junior forward KayAnne Gummersall in the 17th minute of play, forcing Virginia to play from behind for the rest of regulation.“The first goal was just huge — that changed the complexion,” Church said. “I thought we were chasing the game a bit early. I thought Virginia was really sharp early. And then we got them on a counter ... I thought that changed the whole momentum of the game.”Duke now advances to the round of eight to face UCLA. The end of Virginia’s season means the end of many seniors’ collegiate athletic careers.Along with Krzysik, the Cavaliers bid farewell to midfielder/forward Kelly Quinn, goalie Celeste Miles, defender Sarah Senty, midfielder Jen Redmond, midfielder/defender Alli Fries and defender Alex Singer.Virginia looks forward to the 2009 season and the return of sophomore goalie Chantel Jones, who redshirted this year to play for the under-20 national team. The Cavaliers also look to see improvement from returning forwards sophomore Meghan Lencysk, the team’s leading goal scorer, and freshman Lauren Alwine, who led the team in assists.“I think in preseason we set goals and we didn’t accomplish those goals this season,” Krzysik said. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that we came together, we incorporated our new first years, we stood by each other. You can’t take that away from us; you can’t take away the unity we brought to this team.”
(11/21/08 6:07am)
“It’s our last game at Klöckner — maybe.”These were the ominous words of Virginia senior defender Nikki Kryzsik as she contemplated Virginia’s weekend matchup against Duke.Tomorrow evening the Cavaliers (15-4-3, 6-3-1 ACC) continue their NCAA Tournament run in the third round at home at 7 p.m. As a No. 2 seed, the Cavaliers have received home field advantage for their first two matchups against lower-seeded Army and West Virginia. If the Cavaliers defeat the No. 3-seeded Blue Devils (14-5-3, 4-3-3 ACC), they will face either UCLA and USC next weekend. Depending on who wins, the Cavaliers could relinquish home field advantage for the rest of the tournament.“After the big game [against Duke] last time, after the two overtimes, we were kind of like ‘Oh, I wish we had five more minutes,’” senior goalkeeper Celeste Miles said. “Luckily we do get 90 more minutes to play them and see what we can do with that.”During the regular season, Virginia’s face-off against Duke came down to a 0-0 tie even after a double overtime. Throughout the regular season, games that remain level after two overtime periods are recorded as ties. In the playoffs, however, while even scores after double overtime are still recorded as ties, a shoot-out is held to determine which team advances.In the scoreless regular-season game, the Cavaliers outshot the Blue Devils 22 to 6, but neither team was able to finish any chances.“I think Saturday is going to come down to whoever focuses more in both 18s,” Kryzsik said.Just like before its first-round game, with seven days off, Virginia once again has had a considerable amount of time to prepare before facing Duke.“It’s important that you keep your routine and that you work on things that are in your control,” coach Steve Swanson said. “I think the focus has been there and the sessions have been really good.”Just like Virginia, Duke faced a bit of a slide before coming into the NCAA Tournament. After going 0-1-1 in their last two regular-season games, the Blue Devils lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament and were eliminated. Just like Virginia, however, they have recently been caught up in the one-and-done atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament and have thrived under the pressure. The stakes will be high against the Blue Devils; Duke first defeated Radford 5-1 and then defeated William & Mary 1-0 during the first two rounds of the tournament.“Everything is much more exaggerated in terms of importance [during this part of the season],” Miles said.Up to this point, the Cavaliers are 9-2-1 on the season at home, while the Blue Devils are 4-4-2 on the road. For the seniors on the Virginia women’s soccer team, this could mean their last game at home or even their last game ever as a collegiate athlete.“We’ve played four years on this field in front of these fans and these coaches,” Miles said. “But I think the biggest thing is how close we are with our team. Klöckner is important, but I think continuing the season with our team is the most important thing. We don’t want that to end even if we aren’t able to play [at] Klöckner anymore. We just want to continue the chance to be together, to play together and to keep the season going.”
(11/17/08 6:29am)
“On that day [against West Virginia], we weren’t good enough to win. If we get another chance at them, hopefully it’ll be our day,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson speculated. After defeating Army Friday 2-0, Virginia faced West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and put Swanson’s musing to the test. The Cavaliers’ day dawned just as Swanson hoped in a 3-2 defeat of the Mountaineers. After this weekend’s two victories at Klöckner Stadium, the Cavaliers will advance to the Round of 16 to face Duke.After being shut out 3-0 by West Virginia during the regular season — and taking just three shots on goal — Virginia avenged the defeat with efficiency, scoring three times off just nine shots.“Obviously we made [our shots] count,” freshman forward Lauren Alwine said. “In a game like this ... you’re not going to get that many shots. We put them on frame and took advantage of opportunities.”The last time the Mountaineers gave up three goals in a half was against Virginia in 2007. Yesterday, Virginia scored all three of its goals before halftime and played to keep that lead for the rest of the game. West Virginia made that task difficult, however, as the Mountaineers came out in an aggressive formation that allowed them to score right out of the gates in the second half.“We told the team not to give anything away in the first five minutes [of the second half],” Swanson said. “And we promptly did just that.” After that goal, the Cavaliers dropped out of their normal 4-3-3 into a more conservative 4-4-2 in an attempt to hold the Mountaineers’ offensive pressure at bay. West Virginia, however, managed to continue to attack the goal and score once again before the end of regulation.“One of the turning points of the game was their first goal,” Swanson said. “They got it so quickly, and it kind of gave them hope that they could get back in this.”In the first round of the tournament Friday, Virginia managed to shut down Army’s offense, holding it to only one shot the entire game while the Cavaliers rattled off 22 of their own.“They just had great ball skills,” Black Knight forward Dymon Washington said about Virginia’s backline. “Other teams, if we pressured them a lot, it would have frazzled them, but they kept their composure.”The game not only spelled the end of Black Knights’ season but also the end of Army coach Gene Ventriglia’s long and successful career. Ventriglia earned his sixth Patriot League “Coach of the Year” award and led his team to a Patriot League Championship.“What a ride, what a journey for me that I’ve gone through the past 24 years, and to be exposed to youngsters like Dymon here is just enriching to me,” Ventriglia said.With the two victories on the weekend, Virginia will host Duke this weekend at Klöckner with a chance to determine a winner of the 0-0 tie the teams played to at the end of October.“It’s going to take a good team to beat Virginia,” Ventriglia said following his bout with the Cavaliers. “They just have it. They have speed, they have size, they have tactical ability; they’re going to go far.”
(11/13/08 6:14am)
After finally making their way into the polls during the closing weeks of the 2008 season, the Virginia women’s basketball team enters this season ranked No. 15 in the nation. Unlike last year, the Cavaliers have garnered preseason accolades and the expectations are theirs to fulfill. The players have set the bar high for themselves.“We always have the ultimate goal of winning an ACC championship or a national championship,” junior guard Monica Wright said. Reaching such a high goal involves “working to get to those [smaller] goals — we definitely have our goals that have to do with defense and rebounding each game.”Wright is one of the players who has demonstrated the ability to execute in both these categories. Her 82 steals last season led the team, while she averaged 5.0 rebounds per game — third on the team and an excellent number for a guard.Last Friday, the Cavaliers took a step in achieving their goals by defeating DT3 91-77 in a preseason exhibition. Though the game did not affect the Cavaliers’ season standing, it provided the team an opportunity to get used to the rhythm of a regulation game.“I saw a lot of upside, with our first-years especially,” Wright said. “Britny and Whitny Edwards were very solid in the exhibition game. They didn’t have too many turnovers, and they were very active on their on-the-ball defense. I feel like they’re going to be a great addition once they get used to the pace, and we’ve built a little more team chemistry.”Virginia’s season tips off tomorrow at 7 p.m. against High Point. To repeat the success of last Friday’s win, the team needs to establish a high level of play through the consistency of their veterans, refreshed from the offseason.“I think players like Aisha [Mohammed] and Lyndra [Littles] and Monica Wright came back with just a renewed passion for the game,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said.The favored Virginia squad will prepare against getting caught Friday sleepwalking. Though the two games following its contest against the Panthers are high profile — a Nov. 17 showdown against No. 7 Tennessee and a Nov. 21 rematch against No. 25 Old Dominion, the team that ousted the Cavaliers from the 2008 NCAA Tournament in the second round — Virginia is still focusing on the game at hand.“Right now, our main goal is to win the next game, run through our offenses pretty organized, and just get everyone on the same page,” Wright said. “It isn’t ACC basketball, but High Point is definitely a good team. I think they’re from North Carolina, which is like the basketball capital of the world.”Friday’s matchup will give the Cavaliers a chance to work out the team’s point guard situation. With the graduation of point guard Sharneé Zoll and the injury to Zoll’s likely replacement, junior Paulisha Kellum, the spot is up for grabs. The team will likely look to senior Britnee Millner, freshman Ariana Moorer and even Wright to help run the offense.In last Friday’s game, both Moorer and Millner started, playing 20 and 27 minutes respectively.In addition to defense, the Cavaliers must develop confidence from the free-throw line, a skill that could prove significant during the conference schedule and postseason.“We’re definitely going to have to play good defense and work on our free throws and get the win,” Wright said.
(11/13/08 6:11am)
The Virginia women’s soccer team will have no more second chances as it heads into the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday as the No. 2 seed against No. 15 seed Army. After a disappointing overtime loss to a lower-seeded Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament last week, Virginia was left with just six days to prepare for its last and most challenging undertaking of the season — one that could end abruptly at any turn, because every game for the remainder of the 2008 season is “win or go home” for the Cavaliers.“We’ve worked this whole season to get ourselves in this spot, and we are here now,” senior defender Nikki Krzysik said.Now in her last year as a Cavalier, Krzysik said she will reflect back upon her full athletic career as she heads into her last hurrah as a collegiate soccer player.“It’s hard to believe that any game could be my last game here,” Krzysik said. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it isn’t my last game.”Krzysik had been recognized for her talents as far back as her freshman year, when she was named to the ACC All-Freshman team as well as being third-team SoccerBuzz All-Mid Atlantic region. The following year, she was named to second-team All-ACC and second-team SoccerBuzz All-Mid Atlantic. Last year, Krzysik collected numerous first-team honors, including All-ACC, NSCAA All-American, SoccerBuzz All-American and was named to the preseason Hermann Trophy Watch List. This year, Krzysik once again finds herself on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, as well as the recipient of ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Krzysik has started every game of all four seasons she has been at Virginia, except four games at the beginning of her sophomore year because of international duty with the under-20 national team.Krzysik and the rest of the Virginia backline will have to deal with Patriot League all-stars senior midfielder Sarah Goss and freshman forward Dymon Washington as they try to lead the Black Knight charge to the Virginia goal line. Dymon and Goss, the top-two Knight goalscorers, have combined for 11 goals — nearly half of the Black Knights’ offensive production on the season.Although Virginia has doubled Army’s scoring output, 46-23, the two teams’ scoring percentages are even more revealing. While Virginia has struggled to convert offensively this season, having taken 372 shots to its opponents’ 108 but only scoring twice as often as the other side (46-20), the Black Knights have suffered from this weakness to an even greater extent. Army put 307 shots on goal but only managed to convert on 23 occasions.“We really need to capitalize on our chances, and we’ve been working on that this week,” sophomore forward and team-leading scorer Meghan Lenczyk said.The Knights will also be forced to deal with the home field advantage because Virginia has the higher seed.“I think it was a blessing to get a No. 2 seed,” Krzysik said. “We’re so happy we’re at home for the first round. It’s hard to not look ahead, so we are just trying to take it one game at a time.”In addition to garnering home field advantage for at least the first two rounds of the tournament, the relatively high seed means an easier path for Virginia through the bracket — in the beginning, at least.“Last year we were [a] four-seed so we were up against UCLA,” Lenczyk said. “We were really excited to get a bracket we really feel good about [this season]. I think we have a really good shot this year.”To win a national championship, Virginia must win six straight games, four of which could be on the road. Even during a season in which the Cavaliers have managed a 12-4-2 regular season record, their longest winning streak thus far is still just four games.“I think there’s a little more urgency to what we’re doing — you need to recognize that when you get into the NCAA Tournament,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “We’ve set ourselves up this season for the postseason. We’ve got a lot of depth on the team and we’re going to use that depth like we have all season.”Though the Cavaliers have struggled down the stretch, the team began the season playing like a national championship team, and the NCAA Tournament presents an opportunity for the team to refocus and find its footing again.“We still have a lot to learn ... We haven’t peaked yet, and that’s what we’re working towards,” Krzysik said. “Hopefully we’ll peak at the right time.”After finishing the regular season with a 2-3-1 slide, Virginia was eliminated Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament. For any type of success in the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers will have to finish their chances to the tune of their longest win streak of the 2008 season.“We’ll do our homework,” Swanson said. “We’ll find out about Army as best we can, but in the end I think it’s very important that we play the way we’re capable, that we do the things we are capable of doing, that we play to our strengths and as much as possible, impose our style on the game.”
(11/03/08 8:10am)
The Virginia women’s soccer team played from behind when it faced Wake Forest at Klöckner Stadium yesterday.Similar to the game against North Carolina, Virginia allowed its opponent to score for the first time in the 59th minute of play; however, the Orange and Blue were able keep Wake Forest from scoring again. Although the Demon Deacons came out with the 1-0 victory, Virginia coach Steve Swanson said in a comparison of the two games, Virginia played much better against Wake Forest than against North Carolina. “We talked about [managing the game from behind] a little bit,” Swanson said. “We had some decent looks toward the end of the game even when they were playing pretty compact and still behind the ball. So I was happy with that progress.”Against both the Demon Deacons and the Tar Heels, Virginia switched to a more aggressive playing style, moving from the normal 4-3-3 to a more aggressive 3-4-3,. Though their play yesterday did not result in a Cavalier victory, the Cavaliers had more success against Wake than against North Carolina, which scored another four goals after its initial score in its matchup with Virginia. One of the Cavaliers’ opportunities yesterday came in the form of a drive to the goal by freshman forward Lauren Alwine in the 87th minute.“In the play of the game [the move to the goal] was just so fast,” Alwine said, adding that she, “just wanted to put one on goal that had a chance.”While she made strong moves to put herself one-on-one with the goalie from 15 yards away, she had a tough angle and was unable to find the back of the net, putting the ball just wide of the near post.“We haven’t shown the same sharpness that we have shown throughout the year,” she said. “We just seem to be forcing things too much — almost trying too hard if I can say that. It’s led to a lot of turnovers and not as much creative play as we normally have.”One of the more discouraging statistics for the Cavaliers was the total shots: 7-3 in Virginia’s favor. The Demon Deacons managed the only goal of the game with a volleyed corner kick.“It was on a throw-in,” senior goalie Celeste Miles said. “The girl broke free and was coming down the end line and sent a really nice ball to the other side of the sticks where the girl was open and put it in.”While the game did not have any implications for Virginia’s seeding in the ACC Tournament, it could come into play in the NCAA Tournament.The ACC Tournament starts Wednesday, when Virginia faces Wake Forest again in the first of the tournament’s three rounds, all of which are single elimination. Virginia will need to bounce back from a rough stretch in its last three games, in which the Cavaliers have gone 0-2-1.“I think it was a tough loss given the way it was Senior Day and things like that,” Swanson said. “But I’m confident that we can bounce back. We’ve got a lot of leadership ... really there is a lot to play for right now. We just [have] to put this behind us.”
(10/31/08 8:22am)
It was a cold night at Klöckner Stadium as the Virginia women’s soccer team matched up against Duke. The offenses of both teams were kept as cold as the night air by two of the country’s best defenses, with neither team managing a goal in the 90 minutes of regulation nor the two periods of overtime. Although the game ended in a 0-0 draw, the Cavaliers were able to rattle off 22 shots to the Blue Devils’ six. “With the way the game went our team is disappointed it didn’t come away with 3 points tonight,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “We clearly had our chances. We did enough good things to win the game. But we didn’t take our chances well.A Virginia set piece in the 82nd almost gave the Cavaliers the edge as a shot that deflected off the Duke goalie almost dribbled across the goal line but was called null because of a Cavalier foul in the box.“We are usually pretty good on our set pieces,” Swanson said. “I thought we were dangerous at times. From the run of play we have to get a little sharper and make a little bit better decisions, and that will make the difference.”Virginia kept up the pressure and gave itself another scoring opportunity just three minutes later in the form of a cross from freshman forward Lauren Alwine that was headed wide by sophomore forward Meghan Lenczyk.“You couldn’t say that we were pressing the issue and you couldn’t say that we had the energy tonight and you couldn’t say we had the effort tonight,” Swanson said, adding, “certainly the result is disappointing given the way the game went.”Six more shots from the Cavaliers in overtime couldn’t secure a Virginia victory. The Cavaliers took another set piece from just outside the 18 and managed a shot on goal that took a diving save from Duke goalie Cassidy Powers to keep the game alive.“Its always frustrating when your team’s getting shots on goal but can’t put them away,” senior defender Alli Fries said. “But that’s soccer — it’s a game of inches. [You] can’t really count on the shot count; it’s got to go in the back of the net.”As frustrated as the coach and players on the Cavalier side of the pitch might be, against a team as good as Duke, Swanson saw positives from the outcome and, as always, things from which the team can learn.“I’m very proud of the kids to shut down a team like Duke,” Swanson said. “I thought the defense played overall for the majority of the game extremely well. We did a great job; we generated a lot of chances. I think there are a lot of things we can learn from the game heading into the game Sunday against Wake Forest.”The orange and blue now look to their last game of the season Sunday. The Demon Deacons sit at sixth on the ACC table with a 3-5-0 in conference record, 10-6-0 overall.“Tomorrow at practice we will definitely be talking about it,” Fries said. “It’s out last game at Klöckner — our last guaranteed game at Klöckner ... definitely we need to put it all out there. It’s senior day and so we need to work hard for everyone.”Tonight Wake Forest secured an ACC playoff berth by defeating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Momentum will be in the Deacons’ favor Sunday, but Swanson feels prepared and confident.“Everybody knows that these last four games were always tough games,” Swanson said. “There’s nothing that we didn’t know. The big challenge for us is to get regenerated, get recovered and go out and get back and finish what we didn’t do tonight. I’m confident; I think our team can beat anybody any given day.”
(10/30/08 9:11am)
After suffering its worst loss all season and its first home loss in two seasons in a 5-1 defeat to North Carolina Friday, the Virginia women’s soccer team will get a chance to rebound at Klöckner Stadium tomorrow when it plays Duke.Only two more chances remain for the Cavaliers to right the ship before the ACC Tournament begins, and the Cavaliers know more than pride is at stake.“We need to win these next two games to be here in the [NCAA Tournament],” senior defender Nikki Krzysik said. “We’ll get another shot at [North Carolina] in the [ACC Tournament].”The Cavaliers (12-3-1, 6-2-0 ACC) will take many lessons from the game against the Tar Heels; one is to work on playing from behind. Virginia managed to play solid defense and keep the game level at 0-0 for the first 50 minutes of the North Carolina game. When the Tar Heels scored in the 51st minute, however, the Cavaliers faced only their third second-half deficit this season.“We were trying some things,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “We were in a position we haven’t been in a lot. We were in a situation that we need to work on just a little bit more.”Virginia attempted to recover the one-goal margin by moving one of its four defenders forward to increase offensive pressure. Either because the plan backfired or simply because of poor execution, North Carolina quickly scored four more goals to the Cavaliers’ one. Though Virginia faltered and fell behind, Swanson saw it as a learning experience for himself as well as for the players.“It gives us a little more insight into our team, more little things we can take away for down the road,” Swanson said. “I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing at this point in time.”With two conference games remaining before the ACC Tournament, it will become important for Virginia to figure out how to play from behind. One of the teams that has the ability to pose this situation for Virginia is No. 11 Duke. Like any conference opponent, Duke will bring few surprises.“If I never saw UNC play all year, I would know exactly what they were going to do,” Swanson said. “I think good teams are very easy to scout. You know what’s coming down the mountain; it’s nothing different than we expected.”The Blue Devils’ 12-3-2 overall record and 4-2-2 conference record indicates Virginia’s next opponent is a worthy one. Duke could be even stronger than its record indicates because of the strength of its schedule. Thus far Duke’s only losses have come to No. 6 Florida State, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 Notre Dame.One of the Blue Devils’ strengths is a strong defense. Duke is at the top of the ACC in shutouts (5), while allowing just 0.94 goals per game.As evidenced by Virginia’s performance in its most recent 5-1 loss to North Carolina, taking an early lead would seem to bode well for a Cavalier victory. By relying on the goal-scoring power of Meghan Lenczyk and the assist prowess of Lauren Alwine — who fittingly connected on Virginia’s only goal against North Carolina — Virginia will try to finish out the rest of its regular season strong.“This is a home stretch,” Krzysik said. “We need to learn from our mistakes, think about it [for a few days] and then forget about [North Carolina], because we have Duke as our next game.”
(10/28/08 6:06am)
Just as the rain fell at Klöckner Stadium Friday night as the second half got underway, so fell the hopes of Cavalier fans and the athletes for whom they cheered.After a scoreless first half, the then-No. 2 North Carolina women’s soccer team ran away with the game after scoring an opening goal in the 51st minute and following it with four more unanswered goals between the 73rd and 80th minutes. The Tar Heels (15-1-1, 8-0 ACC) eventually won the contest 5-1, dashing the hopes of an upset from the then-No. 8 Cavaliers.“It’s disappointing that the result is what it is,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “I think we did a lot of good things tonight. There’s a lot of things I feel that we can build on. That’s what we’re going to choose to look at. I don’t think the result was indicative of the performance.”The “good things” Virginia (12-3-1, 6-2 ACC) did Friday night came in the form of 50 shutout minutes spanning the entire first half and into the beginning of the second.Solid defense on both halves of the field held the two teams to only three total shots and the same number of corners in the first period of regulation.“We don’t trap; we just try to drop on service,” North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said. “We just a play a semi-flat back 1-3-4-3. With three backs there’s so much space over the top we have to figure out a way to protect that space, so that’s the way we try to protect it.”The Tar Heels’ back line managed to protect that space and had the Cavaliers figured out most of the game — holding them to a game-total four shots while allowing only one goal, when sophomore forward Meghan Lenczyk scored off freshman forward Lauren Alwine’s assist late in the second period when the game was all but finished.Likewise, Virginia held fast against the high-powered North Carolina offense in the first half. The defense Dorrance called “superb,” however, let one get by them early on the second half.“To be fair, we gambled a little bit,” Swanson said. “When we went down one to nothing we went to a three-back [line].”The switch moved one of the Cavalier defenders forward to apply more offensive pressure while keeping only three defenders on the back line.“We were down, so why not?” Virginia senior defender Nikki Krzysik said. “We had nothing to lose. We were kind of trying to push forward and trying to get those goals back.”Used to playing a four-back line, Virginia’s gamble let the already strong offensive North Carolina threat loose.“It’s going to be different when you play against every forward as an athlete or every midfielder running through,” Krzysik said.It seemed as though Virginia was a tale of two teams Friday. In the first half the Cavaliers played their game — strong, defensively minded, controlled soccer — and kept the game level. In the second half, as things came apart, Virginia was forced to become more aggressive and, in turn, lost control of the game.“We have to be a little sharper, a little more focused, a little better about what we do so we can play two good halves,” Swanson said.North Carolina, likewise, played a solid first half defensively but then really found their stride in the second half as four Tar Heels found the back of the net on five goals.“Every now and again a team will finish well,” Dorrance said. “We finished well today. I think we scored on half of our shots — that’s a miracle.”With the first home loss of the season coming against its toughest and highest-ranked opponent, Virginia will look to try to bounce back and maintain focus for its last two home games before the ACC Tournament.