The No. 5 Cavaliers will take on No. 23 Clemson tomorrow at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson for their last regular season game before the ACC Tournament. Virginia is looking to recover from a heartbreaking loss to UNC this past Sunday at home, while Clemson will be trying to continue their recent winning streak.
Virginia's loss to No. 1 UNC ended a 13-game home winning streak, and marked the final home game of the season. The Cavaliers' record is now 12-3-2 overall, and 3-2-1 in the ACC. The lone Virginia goal was scored by sophomore midfielder Sarah Huffman in the first half and the game was tied 1-1 at halftime. However, the Tar Heels proved to be too much for Virginia in the second half and the Cavaliers were disappointed by a 3-1 loss.
"It's not a good feeling to lose," Huffman said. "Hopefully we can take this feeling and use it to bounce back this weekend."
Clemson has recently improved their record to 10-5-2 overall, and 3-3-0 in ACC play. They defeated the College of Charleston 6-0 at home Tuesday night. Freshman midfielder Courtney Foster scored three of the goals for the Lady Tigers, recording the 14th hat trick in the school's history. Other goals were added by sophomore Allison Graham, freshman Amanda Garcia and junior Sarah Turner.
The Lady Tigers offense is lead by Foster, who now has 12 goals and five assists. She was named ACC Player of the Week after her two game-winning goals against Wake Forest and Duke the previous week. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Whitt has recorded nine shutouts this season, and the Clemson defense has remained strong throughout the year.
"Every team in the ACC is going to have a quality offense and defense," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "Clemson is particularly strong in the back, but not much different from a lot of the teams we've played."
Virginia will count on sophomore midfielder Kelly Hammond to lead the offense against Clemson's strong back line. Hammond is now second in the ACC in goals per game and first in game-winning goals. The offense will also count on consistent performances from Huffman, junior Lindsay Gusick, freshman Shannon Foley and freshman Ariel Thompson.
Senior goalkeeper Anne Abernathy has recorded nine shutouts so far this season, aided by the ever constant defensive line of freshman Becky Sauerbrunn and juniors Katie Bunch, Gillian Hatch and Jessica Trainor.
This road game is very important in determining the seed for the Cavaliers going into the ACC tournament.With a win against the Lady Tigers, Virginia could obtain the second or third seed in the tournament next week. A win against the Cavaliers would secure Clemson the number three seed.
"One thing you need to understand is many of these teams are fighting for their lives at this point," Swanson said. "It makes the road that much tougher."
The Virginia players realize how difficult this game could be, despite Clemson's lower ranking.
"They're still a really good team and we have had trouble with them in the past," Hatch said. "Especially coming off our last game it'll be a huge game for us. To finish the ACC season with a big win like that would be great for us."
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