With high hopes and noteworthy preseason rankings, the Virginia women's soccer team suits up tomorrow night for its 2002 season-opener. The Cavaliers host the Hawks of St. Joseph's at Klockner Stadium at 7 p.m.
Preseason expectations are high for the Virginia women, a squad that reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season before succumbing to then-No. 2 Santa Clara. Now, with a recruiting class dubbed No. 3 nationally by Soccer Buzz magazine, the Cavaliers kick off their season tomorrow ranked No. 6 in the NSCAA coaches poll. And in the heavily competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cavaliers received 57 nods to North Carolina's 62, placing them second in the initial pecking order.
Despite such impressive numbers, Coach Steven Swanson, beginning his third season at the helm of the program, places little credence on the rankings.
"Like many coaches, I don't pay too much attention to those things," Swanson said. "They're meant more for the fans and outsiders. This season, we've turned over almost half of our team and for any college team, it's a challenge to get on the right page in the fall with only a couple weeks to prepare. We're confident about the direction we're heading, but I am still in the process of sorting out roles and making sure we're all on the same page. We have to be careful to not try to throw everything together and rush it. Our hope is that by the end of season, we'll be peaking.Because of our youth and our young, fresh faces, we may not be operating on all our cylinders early."
A team including seven sophomores and nine freshman, Virginia has spent much of the preseason weeks working to incorporate the younger faces into a formidable lineup. But despite losing nine seniors to graduation and a handful of other players to injury, Swanson said he has confidence in his team's depth.
"Playing games on Fridays and Sundays is going to be an advantage for us," he said. "We can use certain players and not miss a beat when new players come in. We can come up with a few different looks. We've got older players that have been in the program and can provide a lot of leadership and younger players to give us different looks. That will make it harder for other teams to prepare against us."
Swanson also highlights the importance of the seniors on the team -- Kelly Warden, Meredith Rhodes, Alyssa Benitez and Darci Borski -- for the leadership he expects from them on and off the field.
Tomorrow's game against the Hawks should offer the Cavaliers opportunities to work with various on-field configurations and initiate the recruits to the feel of intercollegiate competition. Saint Joe's, a lesser evil, finished with a paltry 5-10-2 record last season (to Virginia's 17-4-2) and recently dropped its preseason exhibition game on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to defensiveman and team captain Worden, whom Swanson dubs "one of the most underrated players in the past few years," the Cavaliers squared off against a couple men's teams over the past weekend and did quite well.
"We're definitely ready to play," she said of tomorrow's game. "Right away, our team clicked with the freshmen. It may be a bit hard at the beginning but because of our closeness, we should do really well. Last year, we made it to the Elite Eight. This year, we want Final Four."
If all goes according to plan, a victory over the Hawks could be Virginia's first step to a successful season that would live up to many predictions.
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