The Virginia field hockey team begins ACC Tournament play when it faces Maryland this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in Charlottesville at the University Hall Turf Field.
The Cavaliers (10-9) went 0-4 in conference play and come in as the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Despite a 17-2 overall record, and a No. 3 national ranking, the Terrapins share a 2-2 conference record with North Carolina (16-4) and Duke (16-4). Because of conference tie-breaker rules, Maryland therefore enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed.
The conference is led by Wake Forest, as the Demon Deacons went 17-2 overall, 4-0 in conference play and have a No. 1 national ranking.
Today's game comes on the heels of an up-and-down weekend, where the Cavaliers upset no. 17 Boston College 4-3 Friday but fell to ACC-rival and No. 2 Duke Sunday, 6-1. The games against nationally ranked opponents were good preparation for what is to come in tournament competition.
"It's been really helpful to play two top teams," coach Jessica Wilk said. "Obviously we played much better on Friday night against BC. I think Duke handed it to us a little bit on Sunday, and we're trying to regroup a little bit from that and get back to basics. I think playing top-level competition only makes you better and allows you to grow as a team."
The match also served as a reminder of how well the Cavaliers must play to win big games like those in the tournament.
"Maybe it threw us back into reality: We are beatable and we have to bring our A game from here on out to come out on top," senior Katie Jo Gerfen said. Gerfen leads the team with nine assists and is tied for the team lead with 23 points.
Although Maryland only lost two games this year, the Cavaliers haven't forgotten the last time these squads faced off. Virginia tied the game 2-2 with over a minute left to play, but the Terrapins got the game-winner 33 seconds later to avoid overtime.
"They're a very good team," junior goalie Logan Carr said. "We played them before and we lost in the last 30 seconds of the game, so I know that most teams are going to come out looking for blood. It's definitely going to be a tight game. It's basically going to be the team that comes out and wants it more tomorrow is going to be the team that walks off with the win."
There is one big difference, however, between today's game and the last nail-biter between these teams: Home field.
Carr said home field is definitely an advantage and hopes that there will be a lot of fan support.
On the season as a whole, one thing the Cavaliers have been lacking is consistency.
"I think we've had a lot of ups and downs, different strengths with games and we see the weaknesses with other games," Carr said. "Our problem throughout the season has been that we've had different bits and pieces, so now we have to put everything together."
There is no better time for the Cavaliers to start than this afternoon versus Maryland.
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