After struggling in three consecutive road games, the Virginia women's field hockey team will return to a friendly field tonight at 6 p.m. to face the University of California-Berkeley.
With losses in their past three games, the Cavaliers (4-3) are excited about playing on their own field, under their own lights and with their own fans.
"We are looking forward to a great game," Coach Jessica Wilk said.
The team suffered its first losses of the season at James Madison, Richmond and North Carolina in the past two weeks, and is hoping it has regained all of its lost momentum.
"We made great strides from Wednesday to Sunday" against UNC, Wilk said. "We are looking to build on Sunday."
One of the common themes in each of the losses was the inability of the team to play the complete game. Wilk commented that to be effective against strong teams like UNC and UC-Berkeley, the team must play quality hockey for all 70 minutes of the game.
"After last week's game we learned how important it was to play the full 70 minutes," senior back Kelli Hill said.
Virginia has spent the week taking care of the little things that have been problems in past games. In this week's practices, the Cavaliers emphasized working on possession of the ball, building a strong attack and tightening up their defense.
"We've been working basically on keeping it simple," Hill said. "Also, passing to a Virginia stick and working the ball around the defense."
The Golden Bears (5-1) are ranked No. 14 in the country and are looking for fierce competition this weekend. They will play against No. 1 Maryland on Sunday.
The Bears "are very skilled and work quite well as a unit," Wilk said. "They are a good team start to finish."
Virginia has taken a close look at Berkeley's attacks this past week and hopes to handle many of the Golden Bears' strengths.
"They like to hit the ball from the back to the forward line," Hill said. "We need to play consistently and get the job done offensively and defensively"
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