After easily shutting down Radford on Wednesday night, the Virginia field hockey team is taking a few days off from games before heading down to Winston-Salem for its match against Wake Forest on Sunday.
The Cavaliers (10-4) must be prepared as a team for Sunday's game against the Demon Deacons (9-3), who currently are ranked No. 1.
"We've gone up against [a No. 1 team] earlier in the year - Maryland," senior co-captain Carrie Goodloe said. "We're looking forward to it and playing well."
But the Demon Deacons' confidence is high as they line up on their home field on Sunday and look to continue their six-game winning streak.
Wake Forest's string of victories is no small feat, as five of the teams that lost to them are ranked in the top 15 in the nation. The only exception is Appalachian State (5-9), which Wake destroyed, 6-0, on Wednesday. The Demon Deacons managed two more goals than the four that Virginia put away in its win over Appalachian State.
More importantly, the Demon Deacons also have defeated No. 5 North Carolina twice by a score of 2-1, whereas Virginia fell prey to Carolina, 4-1.
Wake Forest is strong as a squad, but one player in particular stands out. Junior Heather Aughinbaugh leads the team in both goals (six) and assists (five).
However, the Cavaliers expect a challenge and they're planning to maintain focus on their own potential and abilities to take on the Demon Deacons.
"I'm expecting it to be a tough game," Virginia coach Jessica Wilk said. "They're a strong team. And we have the potential to be a strong team if we play up to that. I certainly think we're building up and going in the right direction.
"We're really trying to focus on our team and what we're doing and what we need to do well. [The Demon Deacons] have a number of players who are standouts, but more importantly for us right now is what we do."
The Cavaliers have proven themselves to be a mighty force to deal with, both offensively and defensively. In recent games, Virginia goalkeeping has caught the attention of many. Sophomore goalie Emily White currently has a total of six shutouts. Her perseverance in the Cavaliers' Sept. 30 win at Maryland earned White the accolade of ACC field hockey player of the week. In the 3-2 victory White tended the goal through regular play, two overtime periods and strokes. She also tallied eight big saves in Virginia's 2-1 win over Ohio State.
Although she still is relatively new to the game, freshman goalie Logan Carr's contributions to the team are not to be overlooked either. Virginia's 2-1 victory over James Madison (9-6) on Oct. 10 wouldn't have been possible without Carr stopping several of the Duke's shots during the overtime period.
Not to be outdone by the defense, the Virginia front line continues to convert its shots into important goals. The Cavaliers took an impressive 22 shots on Radford goalie Brooke Peterson, although they ended up with only three goals. Junior Katie Slocum notched the first goal, and she maintains her position as second-highest scorer for the Cavaliers with six goals.
Senior co-captain Jessie Coleman knocked the second shot into the cage, bringing her total number of goals this season to a conference-high 13. Senior Carrie Goodloe, continues to get the ball up to the front line to take shots, and she is credited with nine assists.
Ultimately, Sunday's matchup should prove to be a test for the Cavaliers' strength and a good indication of their success for the rest of the season.
"The bottom line is we have to show up and get it done and get it done the right way," Wilk said. "I think this will be a good test for us"
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | 23 hours agoOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
