This weekend, Charlottesville has the honor of hosting play for the first two rounds of the women's NCAA tournament. When the Virginia women's soccer team starts competition in the tournament for the tenth consecutive season this afternoon, they will have the home filed advantage of playing at Klöckner Stadium.
The Cavaliers (12-5-2) are entering the tournament as the No. 7 seed, which guarantees them a home game for the opening three rounds. At 4:30 today, in a rematch of a close Sept. 1 contest at home, Virginia will take on the William & Mary Tribe (14-6-2).
Virginia's early success this season, which included wins over ninth-seeded Santa Clara and sixth-seeded West Virginia, helped the Cavaliers secure the high seed.
"It's just a testament to the season the team has put together," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "We've done so many good things throughout the season and we felt it would make a difference at this time."
Three visiting teams will be in town this weekend for the beginning rounds of the tournament. In addition to William & Mary, teams from Villanova and Princeton will be playing in the other first round game at Klöckner.
The first time the Cavaliers met William & Mary this season, Virginia emerged victorious with a 2-1 decision. The game entered halftime as a scoreless tie after a defensive-centered first half. Yet both teams found some offense in the second half of the game. Freshman forward Ariel Thompson and sophomore midfielder Kelly Hammond found the back of the net for the Cavaliers, allowing the Cavaliers to top the in-state rival Tribe.
But, since the teams' first meeting, William & Mary's season has enjoyed substantial success. Led by the scoring of junior forward Taline Tahmassian, the Tribe won its ninth Colonial Athletic Association Championship in 11 Years after defeating Virginia Commonwealth 2-0 in the CAA tournament final.
"It's never been an easy game with them, and we don't expect it to be this time," Swanson said of William & Mary. "They made a great stretch run and they're coming in here on a roll. It will be a good test for us at this time."
Virginia has lost four of their last five games, and three straight.Most recently, the Cavaliers fell to Duke 2-1 in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament. Duke came from behind, scoring two second-half goals, to hand Virginia the disappointing loss.
"We had some bumps in the road lately and that's all you can say about it," sophomore midfielder Sarah Huffman said.
A loss in the NCAA tournament will end the Cavaliers' season.
"We just know that we have to win," junior defender Katie Bunch said. "We haven't given up. It's the tournament now, so it's a fresh start."
If Virginia is able to get past William & Mary, they will play the winner of Villanova-Princeton game which is scheduled to kickoff at 7 tonight. The two winners will play in the second round game on Sunday, and the victor in that contest will advance to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend.
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