The Cavalier women's soccer team heads into tomorrow's matchup with the Temple Owls still savoring the double overtime victory that earned them first place in the William & Mary Nike Tribe Invitational over the weekend.
Despite their confidence, however, Coach Steve Swanson's squad knows there is still work to be done.
"We still have to work on our restarts and moving the ball better," Swanson said. "We have to fine tune some of our decisions in the box. We didn't do a great job of putting the ball in the goal."
No. 16 Virginia (4-2-1) will look to make these adjustments against a Temple team that comes to Kl
ckner Stadium with some confidence of its own. The Owls are riding a two-game winning streak, with their most recent victory a shutout of St. Francis last weekend.
Temple (5-3) has scored an average of 1.7 goals per game this season behind the play of its outstanding freshman class. In addition to Trish Dalton, a defender on the Under-17 U.S. National team, Temple boasts forward Courtney Fritz, who was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week after scoring the game winning goal in her collegiate debut. Temple also has a double threat in the form of identical twins Stephanie and Samantha Vietry.
"Sam is known to bring 'all of it' to the game and Steph is known to bring 'the rest of it.' They are exciting players," Owls Coach Seamus McWilliams said.
Virginia has plenty of options to counter the Owls' attack. Senior forward Alyssa Benitez and freshman forward Noelle Keselica lead the team in scoring with two goals apiece, and goalkeeper Anne Abernethy has recorded three shutouts and a 1.06 goals against average this season.
On a team where every player on the roster has played in at least one game, there are no stars, and Virginia can bask in this parity.
"One of our strengths is our depth," senior forward Darci Borksi said. "The level of our play doesn't change when reserves come in."
Borski, however, is a star in her own right, fighting back from last year's season-ending injury still leading active players in career goals (19) andassists (14).
Although neither team has begun conference play, the early season matchup still has relevance for Virginia. After setting the school record for home wins last season with 11, the Cavaliers aim to have even more success defending their home field this year. Although the Cavaliers are proud of their achievements so far, the players have by no means satisfied their desire for victory.
"We need to keep the momentum going," Borski said.
Tonight's game will be held at Kl
ckner Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m..
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