The women's lacrosse team will put their four-game win streak on the line when they duel No. 7 JMU (5-2) at Klöckner Stadium tonight at 8.
The No. 5 Cavaliers (8-2) are coming off a stellar week in which they showcased their dominating possession offense. During Virginia's stretch of wins, in which the team trounced top-20 squads North Carolina and William & Mary, the Cavaliers, on average, outscored their opponents by more than 10 goals per game and blasted a whopping 17.5 shots through the net each contest.
Some of their recent success stems from their newfound patience on offense. After the Temple win Saturday, Virginia coach Julie Myers emphasized the importance of every possession.
"I think we did a great job on draws," Myers said. "I think we probably won the ground ball scenario, so we were able to maximize our possessions. We really wanted to be a little more patient and work on things we needed to work on -- limiting turnovers and running through the offense, making that step when you're wide open, and making a pass but maybe not shooting it so that we just keep possession."
Part of the Cavaliers offense relies on the success of their play when the ball is on the ground. Virginia notches 13.8 draw controls per game, putting them fourth nationally coming off the faceoff. The Cavaliers cause 10.2 turnovers per game, while opponents only manage to steal 8.2 from them.
It also helps to have arguably the best finisher in the league -- attacker Amy Appelt. The All-ACC junior is first or second in the NCAAs in nearly every scoring category, leading the league in goals (43) and total points (59). She has also recorded a hat trick in every game this season.
"Amy's amazing," Myers said. "She's going to make everyone around her play better and take a lot of the pressure off of them. She helps us get the ball down into our attacking end and then she makes our attack work."
The danger Appelt poses to opponents also opens up scoring chances for the rest of her teammates.
"To have Amy on the team brings out the best in people, but we certainly have a lot of great attackers around that help to bring out the best in Amy too," Myers said. "I think it's a win-win situation all the way around."
Five Cavaliers have scored 10 goals or more already this season, including sophomore attacker Tyler Leachman, who is second on the team with 21 goals. In the end, though, the team's success this season all goes back to patience with the ball on offense.
"Everyone's involved," Leachman said. "There's a lot of passing. Everyone touches the ball, and everyone's moving. It's really been working well for us this past week, and it's gotten us a lot of goals."
Wednesday's match against JMU will pose the biggest test this year for the Cavalier offense since their last loss two weeks ago to No. 1 Princeton. JMU is 10th in the NCAA in defense, allowing only 7.71 goals per game.
No. 7 JMU boasts a top scorer of their own in Gail Decker, who is fourth in the NCAA with 5.43 points per game. Keeping the ball from her will likely be key if the Cavaliers plan on defeating the Dukes.
If the Cavaliers execute and play possession lacrosse, they should outlast JMU and leave Klöckner Stadium with momentum, confidence and, most importantly, another win against a top-ranked team.
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