As the field hockey team looks ahead to its first game of the season, a home contest scheduled for Saturday against Ohio University, the team merely wants to keep it simple.
"What we're trying to do is play really simple," senior midfielder Cara Unterkofler said. "We're trying to play passing, possession."
Coach Jessica Wilk reiterated that point.
"We can pick our moments when to attack with speed, but we really want to focus on the fundamentals," she said. "We want to play very, very simple hockey."
Ohio presents itself as a formidable opponent. The Bobcats are coming off the best year in their program's history. They are returning seven starters from a team that won the Mid-American Conference, competed in the NCAA Tournament, and finished the season as the ninth-ranked team in the nation.
While they lost four All-MAC players -- two of whom also earned All-American status
-- the Bobcats do return all-conference performers Andrea Voros and Elizabeth Holtzman. Voros, a senior midfielder, finished last season with 10 goals and 11 assists. Junior forward Holtzman led the team with 15 goals, placing her ninth nationally.
"Ohio University is a very strong team," Wilk said. "They play a physical style of hockey. They had a great season last year, and they've got a great group of returning kids and a great group of incoming kids."
The Cavaliers, however, are trying not to focus too much of their attention on Ohio. Unterkofler said that this weekend's game serves as a starting point for team self-evaluation.
"We haven't really concentrated on Ohio at all," she said. "As of yet, we haven't talked about what they do well. We're going out to see what's going on. We're trying to see where we are, as a starting point for the season."
Virginia, instead of focusing on Ohio, will look to control its attitude and effort, which the team set as a goal for the season.
"I'm most confident in the fact that I know everyone's going to work hard," Unterkofler said. "I know that people are going to work really hard, so that if I make a mistake, someone's going to be there to back me up."
The Cavaliers will rely on a strong corps of returning defensive starters. Junior Emily White anchors the defense as goalie for Virginia. White is coming off a season that saw her manage five shutouts and sport a goals against average of 1.507 goals.
Defensive backs Emily Beach, Katie Jo Gerfen and Kelli Hill all started every game last season, and return again to stabilize a team still searching for its offensive firepower.
Senior forward Katie Slocum, the team's leading returning scorer, leads an offense that lost its two prominent point scorers -- All-Americans Jessica Coleman and Carrie Goodloe.
The Cavaliers are confident that their offense will come together and that their defense and team intensity will lead them to victory.
"I think we can beat Ohio," said Unterkofler.
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayOne 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.
