Today could be the last home contest for the seniors on Virginia's women's lacrosse team. It is the last chance for the departing women to advance into the championship game of the ACC tournament. The third seed Cavaliers (11-3) are set to take on second seed Duke (11-2) this afternoon at 3:30 at Klöckner stadium, home to this year's conference tournament.
Virginia has not reached the championship game of the tournament since the 1997-1998 season, when it defeated North Carolina, 9-7, to win the title.
"I've never been to the finals of the ACC tournament," senior tri-captain Lauren Aumiller said. "We're going to win this year."
Duke and Virginia are, respectively, the number three and four teams in the nation, making this a major battle of national powerhouses. The added bitter rivalry between the two squads makes this match-up bigger than most realize.
In the last meeting, Duke brushed aside the Cavaliers, 12-7, at home April 6. Virginia has wanted a rematch with the Blue Devils ever since.
"I think after our game with them two weeks ago, they definitely have our attention," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "I think our advantage is that they don't know what to expect."
Virginia outpaced Duke in almost every statistic in the loss, but the outstanding play of Duke freshman keeper Megan Huether stopped the Cavaliers on offense, allowing Duke to come away victorious.
"We're due for our win," sophomore attacker Cary Chasney said. "We're not going to let a loss like that happen again."
The Cavaliers will need to shore up their defense when they take to the field this afternoon behind strong efforts from senior defenders Courtney Muller and Lauri Kenis. Both have been instrumental in Virginia's success so far this season with their senior leadership on the back line. Tiffany Schummer, who acquired her 100th career caused turnover on Tuesday, also will look to lead Virginia in the rematch.
Duke senior midfielder Kate Kaiser, who scored four goals in the first match between the rivals, will look to lead the Blue Devils to victory alongside senior attacker Lauren Gallagher, who led Duke with six goals against Virginia April 6.
"Hopefully we're able to match with Kate Kaiser in particular and see what we can do," Myers said.
Offensively, Virginia will look to Chasney to continue her recent scoring explosion; she notched five goals against Virginia Tech and six against George Mason. Aumiller, who tied the single game assist record with seven against George Mason, will need to be on top of her game to contain Duke in the midfield and help Chasney put points on the board.
Aumiller said she knows the importance of this game, both personally and for her team.
"They beat us by a pretty good margin last time," Aumiller said. "So we're just really fired up and definitely out to beat Duke."
The winner of this afternoon's game will move on to the title game Sunday afternoon, facing the winner of the North Carolina and Maryland game. The Championship game is scheduled to start at 12:30 and will be televised nationally.
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