The Virginia field hockey team faces a crucial turning point in their season when they play No. 7 North Carolina (7-5, 2-1 ACC) this Sunday.
Halfway into the 2002 campaign, No. 18 Virginia (7-5, 0-2) sat firmly at mediocrity. Although they collected solid if unspectacular wins over their lesser opponents, the Cavaliers did not play well enough to challenge seriously the top-tier teams in the nation.
But as the second half of the season started, Virginia settled into form and began playing to its potential. The Cavaliers pounded visiting Radford 5-0 on Oct. 2 and beat Virginia Commonwealth 2-1 on Wednesday.
The most promising performance of the past two weeks, however, may have come in a loss to Maryland.
In two prior games against opponents ranked inside the top five -- No. 4 Old Dominion and No. 5 James Madison -- the Cavaliers lost by a combined score of 14-1 while being outshot 47-3. But against the Terrapins, Virginia took the top-ranked team in the nation to overtime before succumbing 3-2.
While the Maryland game whet the team's thirst to upset a national power, the Cavaliers anticipate that they will quench their thirst in Sunday's game against UNC.
"We came so close last time we played them," senior midfielder Rosemary Walker said. "We had that game until the last 10 minutes when we just kind of just stopped and gave away the game."
Walker was referring to three weeks ago when the teams met in Chapel Hill. Virginia held a 1-0 advantage entering the 62nd minute of play, but the Tar Heels rallied to score three goals in the final eight minutes to put the game out of reach for the Cavs.
That "eight-minute span was very costly in the first game," Virginia Coach Jessica Wilk said. "We can't have that kind of lapse if we expect to win this time around."
Virginia's strong defense will be up against Carolina's potent offensive attack. In their wins, the Tar Heels are averaging 3.3 goals while Virginia's defense gives up only 1.5 goals per game, excluding the brutal 11-0 loss at Old Dominion.
Sophomore forward Kerry Falgowski and senior midfielder Meredith Keller lead UNC with 19 and 13 points, respectively. Falgowski, who did not start regularly until this season, already has notched nine goals in 12 games for Carolina.
Along with veteran backfielders Emily Beach and Kelli Hill, Virginia will rely on defensive anchor goalie Emily White, who has pitched three shutouts this season, to counter the Tar Heel attack.
Lately, the Cavaliers offense has had more firepower. With the team struggling to convert short corners for much of the season, junior midfielder Shannon LaVigne replaced Hill as the team's first option on the corner, and the switch has reaped immediate rewards. In LaVigne's first game as the number one option, the team scored on three corner attempts.
With a top-10 team next on its plate, Virginia must continue its strong play in order to win this crucial conference matchup and prove that it is a team that knows how to win.
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