With a victory over rival Princeton under its belt, the Virginia women's lacrosse team now can focus on defeating another rival: in-state adversary James Madison.
With a 6-1 record and their eyes on another title, the No. 4 Cavaliers are not trying to underestimate anyone, even after a big victory.
"It's only one game, so we need to make sure that we're ready for James Madison come Wednesday and Duke after that," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "So, we're keeping it in perspective. We still have so many games left."
Myers preaches a game-by-game approach to her team. After knocking off a top-four team, the last thing the Cavaliers want at this point in the season is a let down.
Despite being unranked, the Dukes are not a team the Cavaliers can afford to overlook. Last year, Virginia was down 5-1 to JMU before coming back to win by the score of 12-9. Senior attack Amy Appelt was a decisive player in the victory with seven goals and an assist.
"They're always a really, really tough competitor against us," junior goalkeeper Ginger Miles said. "There's a lot of rivalry there, so we're going to be playing tough against them."
In order to seal a win against JMU, Virginia will have to display a strong offense in addition to Appelt's efforts. Appelt said she feels that despite her individual play, her teammates have great ball-handling skills and are capable of causing trouble for opposing defenses.
"We have great attackers all over, so it's to a defense's disadvantage to just throw random things at us, because we have so many places to attack from," Appelt said. "We have such great attackers in Tyler Leachman, Cary Chasney and Kate Breslin that if you try to double one of us, you are going to lose."
In addition to a strong offense, the defense will have to provide a united front, especially when covering JMU sophomore midfielder Kelly Berger. Last week she was named Colonial Athletic Association Lacrosse Player of the Week with six goals in two games against Dartmouth and Loyola.
After a win Friday against No. 17 Loyola, JMU is aiming for its second upset in as many weeks today against the Cavaliers.
For Virginia, however, tonight's game has a different meaning.
"Every year is different, but we definitely are in the same frame of mind in what we want to achieve, by winning an ACC Championship and a national championship," Appelt said.
By defeating JMU tonight in Harrisonburg, the Cavaliers hope to take the next step on the road to yet another national title. Game time is 7 p.m.
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