Tonight, the No. 4 Virginia women's lacrosse looks to regain its winning ways against in-state rival Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.
The Cavaliers are coming off a tough loss to Duke over the weekend while the Hokies will come into Kl?kner riding an overtime win against New Hampshire Sunday, snapping a three-game skid.
In the Cavalier loss on Sunday, Virginia (9-3, 1-2 ACC) led the Blue Devils in draws, caused turnovers and ground balls but could not come up with the win.
"We could have played with a lot more toughness, focus and organization," Virginia coach Julie Myers said.
Tech (2-9) has faced five other ranked opponents thus far this season, making the Cavaliers number six. In those five matchups, the Hokies have been outscored by a margin of 39 goals.
The Cavaliers will look to add to that number tonight and continue a win streak over Tech that extends back to the 2000 season.
"Hopefully it's a rebound game," Myers said, adding that she wants the team to "step up and play intense, focus and play our style where we put the ball in the back of the net and play some stingy defense."
If it hopes to obtain its 10th win of the season, Virginia will have to contain senior midfielder Sam Sybert, who led the Hokies over New Hampshire with two goals and three assists.
The Hokies, however, will have to shutdown the tremendous trio of senior midfielder Lauren Aumiller and sophomore attackers Amy Appelt and Cary Chasney. On the season, they have scored 99 goals and recorded 37 assists for Virginia with four more games to go before the regular season ends.
Winning ground balls also will be crucial for the Cavaliers with junior midfielder Morgan Thalenberg and senior defenders Tiffany Schummer and Lauri Kenis leading the team in that category. Turning these ensuing possessions into points on the scoreboard is another issue -- a lesson that Duke taught Virginia Sunday.
"They capitalized on most of the ground balls, and that's key," Thalenberg said.
The Cavaliers also will have to keep the Hokies from scoring early so they do not find themselves behind early in the game, as again was the case against Duke where they trailed 7-1 midway through the first half.
"We're probably going to play a different game plan -- coming out harder than we did [against Duke] and have more composure," Thalenberg said.
Junior goalkeeper Andrea Pfeiffer will have to return to her solid shot-blocking ways after the defeat to Duke in order for Virginia to win tonight. Pfeiffer could muster only six saves against the Blue Devils, but has been dominant in the net for the Cavaliers throughout the season.
The added bonus to this game is the Virginia/Virginia Tech rivalry that spans all sports, meaning that bragging rights are at stake for the winning squad.
The Cavaliers will travel to Farifax, Va. to play the George Mason Patriots April 15 in their final game of the regular season. Virginia Tech and George Mason are Virginia's last two chances to tune-up their play before the conference tournament.
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