From the get-go last year the women's soccer team was on a roll. The Cavaliers played nine games undefeated, and even after finally losing a game, still finished off the regular season with a record of 17 wins, three losses and two ties.
Then, in the postseason, it all came to a screeching halt. In just the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers fell to Duke 3-0, marking their elimination and the end of the season.
But as they say, that was then, and this is now: a new year, a new season and a few new faces, most notably towards the back of the field. Virginia graduated its entire defensive line this past spring -- four girls who not only played almost every game together last year but worked as a cohesive unit to hold opposing teams to an average of .58 goals per game.
The biggest hurdle the incoming freshmen will have to overcome most likely will not be trying to work up to the skill level of the previous defensive line. Instead, the freshmen will have to learn to work together as well as the previous line did.
"They played almost four years together, never missed a game," coach Steve Swanson said. "We benefited from that, certainly in the last two years of their careers. I think right now, because we have so many new faces, we're a little disjointed on both sides of the ball."
There may be some advantages, however, to having a whole new set of players on the field. One-third of the Virginia roster can name either defense or defense/midfield as their position, giving the Cavaliers a defensive depth they simply did not possess when they had the same four girls consistently playing.
"I think that's going to help us, especially down the stretch," Swanson said.
And the defense still has some familiar faces. Becky Sauerbrunn, a back who missed most of last year to play for the U-19 Team World Championships in Thailand, will return to her home field this season.
"To have somebody like Becky Sauerbrunn, you've got an anchor there in the back," Swanson said.
With an entirely new back row brimming with skill, Sauerbrunn could be the key to bringing the defense together and helping it rise to its potential.
"She can be back there and help that back line," senior midfield Kelly Hammond said.
Another solid point in a yet-to-be-determined defense is goal keeper Christina de Vries. Last year de Vries allowed just 13 goals in 22 games.
"To have Becky Sauerbrun back and Christina de Vries back in goal are two solid rocks for us," Swanson said.
While the defense is shoring itself up, the front will be attacking. In stark contrast to the brand new defense, a vast majority of the midfielders are juniors or seniors, and over half of the forwards are upperclassman.
"Offensively, I think that we're going to be the fittest team that you're going to see," Hammond said.
The magic word this year seems to be potential. The defense has a great deal of it, the forwards and the midfields are fine tuning it and the whole team seems eager to start the season and see what they can do.
"It keeps getting better and better," Sauerbrunn said. "The more games we play with each other, the better we're going to get."
Still, the main problem with potential is that it doesn't just magically manifest itself in the form of winning games or playing with incredible skill. It has to be realized, and that takes time.
"[Do] I think will we be at the same spot that we were last year at this time? No, that's unrealistic," Swanson said. "But I think we might be potentially better than we were at the end."
For Virginia fans who have watched their team bulldoze through the regular schedule only to fall in the first and second round of the postseason, that could be some very welcome news.
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