The Cavaliers opened the 2003 season last night with a solid 4-2 win over Northeastern, bringing the Virginia record of consecutive games won against out-of-state, non-conference opponents to 37.
The Cavaliers also have won their last 12 home openers.
"I think it was a very exciting game," coach Jessica Wilk said. "Things went back and forth, and there was a lot of action on both ends."
Senior left forward Katie Nicholson put the first point on the board and came back again to score Virginia's third goal before the end of the first half on the then-scoreless Northeastern. Freshman midfielder Mia Link recorded the Cavaliers' second goal from sophomore Sarah Miller.
Northeastern managed to score one in the first half and again on a comeback run following sophomore forward Dana Anderson's goal that brought the Cavaliers' goals to a final count of four, with the first three resulting from penalty corners within the first six minutes of play.
The game extended past regulation time, with Northeastern's attempt at two failed penalty corners and a fruitless penalty stroke.
"I think everyone had some fire in their bellies, so we came out, went hard, although sometimes a little bit too hard," junior sweeper Katie Jo Gerfen said. "But once we came together, we were relaxed, we were poised, communicating to each other, we worked well together and came up with the ball, and had a good transition."
Virginia's energetic victory reflects a determination to make this one a winning season, after last fall's disappointing 9-11 (0-4 ACC) record.
"Everyone's really focused this year and we want to try to climb up over that hill," Nicholson said. "We had never been in that position: Virginia field hockey has had a legacy of being top ten and last year we weren't, which was hard for our ego, so we're trying to pull out of that and get back up to where we belong."
With nine returning starters, including Virginia's leading scorer, sophomore Allie Flynn, the team enters the season with a wealth of experience to complement the overall talent as well as the enthusiasm of new additions to the team.
"I think it's going to be a really exciting season," Wilk said. "We've got a lot of newcomers and we're a young team, but they've blended well with the upperclassmen. I think this team is capable of doing good things if we keep it very simple, we stay focused and we work as a unit."
The makeup of the group last year consisted of very different playing levels. This year it appears that the younger members of the team have caught up and now exhibit a great deal of confidence in addition to a higher caliber of performance that makes for a stronger overall game.
More than anything, consistency is going to be an important focus, particularly execution of basic fundamentals, on the attacking and defensive side of the ball, according to Wilk.
The team has been working hard in practice to develop even passing strategies and having all of the players contribute to pushing the ball up the field.
"We went out there and did some things that we've been really working on in practice," Nicholson said.
Virginia's schedule holds several challenges in store en route to the NCAA tournament, as the Cavaliers will face three former national champions in Wake Forest, Maryland and North Carolina, and three 2002 tournament participants in conference play alone. The Cavaliers travel to Princeton to face the Ivy League champion Tigers and the CAA opponent Drexel this weekend.
"We control our own destiny," Gerfen said. "We can be a good team. It's not easy being good, but we will come out every game working hard."
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