Four days after knocking off the nation's third-ranked team, the Virginia women's soccer team continues its season-opening road trip with tonight's match at James Madison.
The No. 13 Cavaliers (1-1) split a two-game set in the Pacific Northwest last weekend, dropping a 2-0 decision to Oregon State before rebounding to hand No. 3 Portland only its ninth home loss of the decade. Now the Cavs face an in-state rival that has taken them to overtime twice in the past three meetings.
Madison (1-1) lost eight starters and more than half of the scoring output from last year's NCAA Tournament team, but hung tough Sunday in Happy Valley against fifth-ranked Penn State before swallowing a 4-2 defeat.
Starting keeper Beth Manghi and three forwards, including Therese Wolden, one of the program's most prolific scorers, are gone from last year's No. 25 Dukes, but their replacements have filled the void.
Senior Aimee Grahe's move up top from flank midfield has been a great success thus far. The tri-captain, starting regularly for the first time, has all three of the Dukes' goals, including the lone tally in Madison's season-opening 1-0 win against West Virginia.
With Grahe and redshirt freshman Teri Joyce spearheading JMU's typically speedy attack, the Cavaliers will defend in bunches.
"They are very quick and athletic," Virginia coach April Heinrichs said of the Dukes. "They play like their hair is on fire."
The Cav defense should be able to contain that explosive offense, with second-year Ashley Meeker and fifth-year Carryn Weigand patrolling the backfield and third-year keeper Julie Harris manning the net behind them.
Third-stringer Ashley Mowery started in goal at the end of the preseason, when Heinrichs kept Harris and fourth-year Megan Boehm on the bench for failing their preseason fitness tests. Heinrichs now has reinstated both keepers, however she will stick with Harris, who started the first two games, in goal tonight.
Asked if Harris had simply beaten out her more experienced teammate for the starting spot, Heinrichs' response was noticeably clipped:
"Julie Harris will start for us," she said.
At the other end of the field, sophomore Sam Wilson takes over in net for Manghi, who tied the school record for saves with 14 against the Cavaliers last year. Superstar forward Angela Hucles and third-year midfielder Katie Tracy will lead the charge against Wilson.
Tracy, who was named yesterday to Soccer America's Team of the Week, is one of a handful of the Cavalier's native Virginians who will be playing tonight against familiar faces from high school. JMU junior Beth Burgess teamed with Tracy at Richmond's James River High School.
"She's one of my best friends," Tracy said. "She lives right down the street."
But friendship aside, the Cavs know if they are to pick up a win in Harrisonburg, they cannot play like they did at Oregon State.
"Maybe it was jet lag," fifth-year Jill Maxwell said with a smile. "I don't know what happened. Hopefully we got it out of our system."
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