Last weekend, as I sat in the Virginia section of College Park's Byrd Stadium, one of the country's oddest football stadiums, there was only one thought going through my mind: Wow. Not because the Cavaliers were "shell-shocked" as the sports page called Saturday's 45-33 loss to the Turtles of Maryland.
"The hostile environment actually helps me," Virginia senior field goal kicker Connor Hughes said after Saturday's game.
Virginia coach Jess Wilk did not feel her team was adequately prepared for last Saturday's duel with the University of Maryland.
Two Virginia soccer players earned ACC Player of the Week honors, which were announced Monday. Jess Rostedt helped the women's side to two 1-0 victories last week over ACC opponents Florida State and Miami.
Since returning to Virginia in 2001 to coach his alma mater, Al Groh has preached about needing the right players to fit his NFL power offense and his complex 3-4 defensive scheme.
Cavalier kicker Connor Hughes is among 184 semifinalists for the 2005 Draddy Trophy, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Virginia came into College Park looking to legitimize its top-20 ranking. The Cavaliers, however, looked nothing like an elite team in Saturday's 45-33 loss to Maryland and consequently now face increased scrutiny and uncertainty heading into a difficult portion of their schedule. Powered by the arm of Sam Hollenbach and the legs of both Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore, Maryland's offense shredded Virginia's defense to pieces.
With Sunday's 1-0 win over the visiting Miami Hurricanes, the Virginia women's soccer team improved to 9-2-1 on the season and remained undefeated in the ACC.
Two second-half goals were all Virginia needed to overcome the stubborn resistance of then-No. 2 North Carolina and end the Cavaliers' alumni weekend on a high note. It's been 28 years since the Tar Heels earned a significant result at Klöckner Stadium, and, with the class of 1969 and 1989 in attendance, the Cavaliers ensured the streak stayed intact with a solid display, especially in defense. North Carolina has been the class of the ACC this season and showed why in the first half. The much vaunted strike duo of freshman Yannick Reyering and junior Adam Cristman were kept fairly quiet, with the Tar Heel defense doing a good job of running down space and disrupting Virginia's midfieldrhythm.
Injuries are never good for a team at any point during the season. They are especially detrimental when they occur right before the heart of the conference season. This is the problem the women's volleyball team faces right now.
With nine minutes remaining in last weekend's game against Duke, Virginia freshman Kelly Quinn received a yellow card.
The Virginia men's soccer team extended its home shutout streak to four and brought its season record to 6-1-1 with a 4-0 victory over the Mount St.
For the Virginia football team, playtime is now over. The team will get its first true test of the season this Saturday when it travels to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins. The Terrapins (2-2), while not members of the ACC elite, still represent a step up in competition.
The Virginia field hockey team improved its record to 6-4 with a 3-1 win against the Longwood Lancers yesterday. The Cavaliers played an intense game with a new offensive strategy, which at times seemed unsuccessful but resulted in a win for Virginia nonetheless. Virginia's Katie Phillips, a senior from Texas, was the leading scorer with two goals.
I'm tired of all of this gloom and doom talk when it comes to the Virginia men's basketball program.
Football games are won and lost in the trenches of the offensive and defensive lines. During the 2004 season, the Cavalier offensive line won the battle with opponents' defensive lines almost every game.
There is no denying the strength of ACC field hockey, but to find the best under-21 play in the world, you would have to travel about 5,000 miles south to Santiago, Chile. Unfortunately, you are also two weeks late. The BDO Hockey Junior World Cup recently finished with South Korea defending its title with a 1-0 win over Germany in the final. The real story, though, was the resurgence of the long-dormant American team, led by Virginia's Mia Link and Katherine Blair. The United States rallied to a seventh-place finish out of 16 teams, after finishing 14th in 2001.
As the men's soccer season reaches its midpoint, heavy legs and decreasing stamina become a major concern for the Cavaliers. Fortunately, the team has been sparked by outstanding play from junior reserve midfielders Ian Holder and Will Hall.
As the youngest of three, born into a family that comes together most animatedly when discussing a TV show or sports, I can tell you that the beginning of fall is the time when we become especially alive. Since fall officially fell last Thursday, nary a day has gone by during which I haven't received a phone call, text message or e-mail from somebody in my family -- just to talk sports. Yea, we're weird, but don't fault us for that.
The University of Virginia volleyball team began ACC play this weekend with a win over N.C. State and a loss to North Carolina. The Cavaliers traveled to Raleigh Friday and claimed a 3-0 (30-23, 30-18, 30-22) victory over the Wolfpack, Virginia's 20th consecutive win over N.C.
