If there is any question about which conference is the best in college field hockey, look no further than the Junior World Cup roster for the answer.
Of the 18 players selected to represent the United States, 13 hail from the ACC.
Two of these girls are Virginia's own: junior Mia Link and senior Katherine Blair.
The Junior World Cup is a 16-team international tournament which pits the best players 21 years old and under against each other.
The tournament is set to run from Sept. 14 to 25 in Santiago, Chile. Link and Blair, however, will leave the Cavaliers Sept. 11 to join the team. They will, however, play in this weekend's games in Evanston, Ill.
The United States will take on England, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe in its pool to open the tournament. If the U.S. team finishes in the top three in the first round pool, it will advance to the second round of pool play.
A top-four finish in the second round would put the Americans in the semi-finals with a shot at the championship game Sept. 25.
In the 2001 World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the United States stumbled to a 14th-place finish.
Nonetheless, Link said she expects the team to be strong and is hoping to make any contribution necessary.
"It's a lot harder to be a standout player on the U-21 team," Link said. "So I'm more of a link in the team and less of a leader."
The United States, however, may be hurting for leadership. Only four players on the roster have prior experience in international play. By comparison, the defending champion, South Korea, has 11 players who have previously suited up against other countries.
While Link and Blair battle the international competition, Virginia will take on a pair of intrastate rivals and begin ACC play.
In all, Link and Blair will miss four Virginia games: James Madison, Monmouth, William and Mary and the ACC season-opener against Boston College.
Head coach Jess Wilk said she is aware of the talent the Cavaliers will be missing during the upcoming stretch but is confident in their ability to compensate.
"They [Link and Blair] are very high-quality players," Wilk said. "There's no question that not having them will be a loss, but I also feel confident in the group that we have and the depth that we have. Players are going to have to step up and fill roles. I feel very confident that the team will pull together and find ways to compete."
Sophomore Amy Desjadon is slated to take the place of Blair in the cage. Desjadon will record the first start of her collegiate career against James Madison.
On the forward line, Wilk is comfortable with the depth she has and expects several players to emerge during Link's hiatus.
Link herself is not counting on anything with regard to her place in the Cavaliers' starting lineup.
"We do have a deep bench," she said. "I expect to have to earn my starting spot back when I get back."
Wilk said she is confident, though, that Link and Blair will return to Charlottesville able to impart what they learn in Chile on the rest of the team.
"They'll come back and be better players because of it and bring that experience back to our group, and I think everyone will benefit from it," she said.
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