The No. 15 Virginia women's soccer team (5-2-1) heads into tomorrow's home match against No. 16 Brigham Young (6-2-1) with Tuesday night's 1-0 victory over William & Mary still fresh in the players' minds.
The Tribe's talented defense managed to hold the offensively oriented Cavaliers for the most of the game, but in the 66th minute, Virginia freshman Lindsay Gusick broke down the defense for the only goal of the game. With her fourth goal in the past three games, Gusick showed that she is a commanding force on the Cavalier's front line in her first season.
Despite Gusick's stellar play, Virginia coach Steve Swanson thinks the Cavaliers must generate more offense after notching only one goal against the Tribe.
"We'll have to move the ball better and make better decisions than we did" against William & Mary, Swanson said.
The Cavaliers hope to rediscover some of the offensive prowess they displayed earlier this season. Virginia will look to senior co-captain Lori Lindsey for continued leadership and scoring. She hopes to add to her team-leading five goals against the Cougars.
Virginia defenders also have made offensive contributions this season. Playing defense for the Cavaliers has not stopped senior Ashley Meeker from taking the ball up the field and scoring. She started off on the right foot in Virginia's 7-0 win over Liberty on Sept. 26 by scoring the first of the team's seven goals. It was her third goal this season.
Swanson said his players must take their game to a higher level in order to play their best game against Brigham Young tomorrow.
The Cougars are "strong, so we'll have to neutralize their physical side," he said.
So far this season, Brigham Young has proven itself to be a strong contender in the Mountain West Conference. After losing only two players from the starting lineup, the Cougars have started out their season strong. They come into Virginia with two wins from this past weekend. On Sept. 28, the Cougars defeated Arizona with a score of 2-0. The next night, Brigham Young stepped off the field after beating Boston, 4-0. With this past weekend's victories, the Cougars have shut out six of their nine opponents this season.
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Several players have generated the Cougar's offense in the past few games. Sophomore Aleisha Cramer, an All-American player as well as one of the four college players on the 18-member U.S. National Team, secured the win over Boston with her successful penalty shot in the 50th minute. She came back the next day to score another goal. Along with Cramer, senior Jennie Christianson, junior Jeni Willardson Viernes and freshman Kim Devine also contributed goals against Boston.
Gusick expects the Cougars to be a tough team to face.
"For us, it's going to be about fighting hard, competing and finishing our chances," Gusick said.
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