After a decisive win on the road last Sunday, the Virginia field hockey team is gearing up for a pair of games at home this weekend.
The Cavaliers (3-0) hope to maintain their unblemished record and continue their three-game winning streak following a season-opening victory against Ohio State and shutouts against Northwestern and Southwest Missouri State. Virginia is evaluating carefully what needs to happen as the team takes on William & Mary tonight on the University Hall Turf Field at 7.
"They're a very good team," Virginia Coach Jessica Wilk said. "They're fundamentally very sound. They play hard. And our games with them have typically been overtime games almost every year. It's quite an in-state rival, and I expect it's going to be a battle."
Although Virginia has played well this year, they do face a challenge against the Tribe, who last year snagged the game penalty corner that broke the tie to end the game 1-2, and end a two-game Cavalier winning streak.
Senior midfielder and forward Katie Slocum said she is focused on playing the game more than sizing up the opponent.
"We're trying to treat them the way we treat all the teams we play this year," Slocum said. "We're trying to go out there and play our game and not worry too much about them."
Virginia is most concerned with strengthening their defense. So far this season they have relied on senior keeper Emily White on their side, who just was named ACC player of the week.
White helped the team to their two recent shutout victories thanks to her 91.3 save percentage, which ranks her second in the ACC.
"Emily White comes out and does an awesome job every day in practice, so it's not surprising when she does an awesome job in games," Slocum said. "She keeps us in the game all the time."
Wilk hopes that even with the young team, a strong defensive strategy will emerge tonight .
"Defensively, as a unit, we're getting better," Wilk said. "Game by game, our marking has got a lot better. I think our individual defense still needs to get better. We're growing as a team defensively. We're not where we want to be yet."
Offense is a concern as well.
"Offensively, we want to put it in the cage," Slocum said. "We have a lot of missed opportunities that we should have finished on, so that's something we're definitely working towards for Friday and Sunday."
After meeting the Tribe at home tonight, the Cavaliers will travel to James Madison on Sunday to face another state rival. The Dukes (3-0) are off to their best start since 1991 and surely are looking forward to their third consecutive home game.
This weekend will be a great opportunity for the Cavaliers to shine against their Virginia rivals and bolster their record.
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