When the Virginia women's soccer team stepped onto the field at Klockner Stadium for its first home game this season against Mississippi, something slightly odd seemed to be going on. Senior defender Ashley Meeker was patrolling the defense with two teammates who were playing their first college game.
Two freshmen were helping to control the fate of the defense for the fourteenth-ranked women's soccer team in the nation? The task seems like quite a lot to ask from a couple of freshmen in their first game.
But when one of those freshmen is Katie Bunch, there's no need to worry.
Bunch and the Cavaliers held Ole Miss to just three shots for the entire game. Since then Bunch has been a staple in the Cavalier defense, starting all five of Virginia's games and playing a total of 411 minutes.
Bunch "works very hard," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "As a defender she's very hard to get behind. She does a lot of the things that I like to see in my defenders."
"I try to bring a stability and reassurance," Bunch said of her role as a defender. "I think that we have some more confidence back there."
Bunch, along with fellow freshmen Erin Lycan, Lindsay Gusick, Gillian Hatch, Jamie Fabrizio, Taylor Wood and Jessica Trainor are an exciting addition to the Cavaliers this season. The group has been called one of the finest recruiting classes in the history of the Virginia program. In fact, Soccerbuzz.com ranked the Cavalier freshmen as the top recruiting class in the nation.
Bunch already had quite an impressive resume before even playing a game at Klockner. She was a four-year starter and letter winner at Bishop DuBourg High School in St. Louis, Mo., and captained that team for three years. She was a two-time St. Louis Archdiocesan athletic conference player of the year and also was chosen as a Parade All-American. The list of accolades goes on, as she was selected the 2001 Missouri Gatorade player of the year and a 2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete.
Outside of high school, Bunch was a two-time NSCAA All American as well as a three-time all-state selection and four-time U.S. National team member. All of her experience is sure to come in handy as she begins her college career at Virginia.
"The fact that she's had a lot of experience with the national team has helped her transition to Virginia," Swanson said.
"I'm having a lot of fun," Bunch said. "Everyone's really nice and that makes the transition really easy."
"She's still got a lot of potential," Swanson said of his standout freshman. "I'm excited about what she's doing so far but I'm even more excited about what she's going to be in the future."
The future for Virginia (3-1-1) begins tonight when it hosts Liberty (2-3) in a 5 p.m. matchup at Klockner. The Cavaliers enter the game following a 1-1 tie at Florida on Sunday. Liberty beat UNC-Asheville on Saturday, 2-1, but has struggled in past weeks. Its only other win came on Sept. 1 against Stetson.
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