The Virginia women's soccer team travels to face second-seeded Santa Clara in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m. This marks only the second time Virginia has advanced to the elite eight of the NCAAs. Should Virginia win at Santa Clara at Buck Shaw Stadium, it will advance to the College Cup, which will take place Dec. 7 and 9 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
But the Cavaliers are not trying to get ahead of themselves.
"We're just concentrating on taking this one game at a time," freshman forward Lindsay Gusick said.
The Cavaliers have done just that so far in the NCAA tournament, systematically dispatching Liberty, William & Mary and Cincinnati en route to this quarterfinal matchup.
"We couldn't have picked a better time to come together and elevate our game," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. The win over Cincinnati "gives us confidence going into this game, which will obviously be our stiffest challenge so far," Swanson said.
Santa Clara entered this year's tournament by winning the West Coast Conference championship. This is the Broncos' 13th straight tournament appearance and seventh straight quarters appearance.
"Santa Clara is a very good team - they're ranked second," Gusick said. "They are going to come out physical and fast-paced. They are going to want to take it right from the start."
"We expect a very strong game," Swanson agreed. "It won't be easy for us."
But the Cavaliers aren't planning on changing their strategy for the game against Santa Clara. To take out the Broncos and advance to the Final Four, Virginia will be counting on the same familiar formula that's worked for it all season.
"I think we need to concentrate on getting ahead early," Gusick said. We need to "do what we do best, like moving the ball and getting early chances."
Virginia and the Broncos are no strangers to each other. Virginia shut out Santa Clara, 1-0, last season in the Coca-Cola Classic in Stanford, Calif. However, the Cavaliers can't take stock in that win.
"They've changed dramatically and so have we," Swanson said. "I really think we'll see a different team. The whole picture from last year has changed."
For the first three rounds of the tournament, Virginia has been lucky enough to play at home. The Cavaliers' regular season success, coupled with the loss of top-seeded Notre Dame, allowed Virginia to host more games Klockner Stadium. But Virginia will say goodbye to its friendly confines for the rest of the season as it travels out west for its farthest-away game of the season.
"This is the first time we've been away in the tournament and that will pose a different challenge," Swanson said. "We are looking forward to it and we're going into the game with a lot of confidence, which is what you need at this stage."
The Cavaliers' confidence was obvious as the team boarded the bus to the airport for its flight to California.
"You know we are going to Dulles, right?" Swanson asked, checking with the bus driver as the team was boarding it.
"Dallas?" the confused bus driver said.
"No, Dulles Airport," Swanson responded. "Hopefully Dallas is next weekend"
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