If the NCAA decided to institute the old Bowl Championship Series formula for Division I field hockey, there is one component that Virginia would not have to worry about: strength of schedule.
The No. 20 Cavaliers are only 8-7 overall and will look for their first ACC win against No. 1 Wake Forest tomorrow afternoon in Winston-Salem. But the unremarkable record can be chalked up in large part to a demanding schedule. Virginia's combined opponents' record is 156-110, and in their last eight games of the regular season, the Cavaliers will only play one team with a record under .500.
Eleven of Virginia's opponents have been or are currently ranked in the top 20 in the country. The Cavaliers, however, does not see the tough schedule as a reason to expect any less of themselves.
"Every game that we've lost was because of things that we didn't do or mistakes that we made," senior midfielder Allie Flynn said. "So it's really easy to come out [of it] being like, 'We could have won that game,' then thinking the other team is better. So I think each practice after a loss is that much better because we know exactly what we need to fix."
Virginia coach Jess Wilk also said she thinks the grueling schedule prepares the team for the most important part of the season, the ACC Tournament.
"There's no question about it that come the beginning of the ACC Tournament, we will be battle-tested," Wilk said. "We will know where we are, and we'll know what we need to do adjust."
This idea correlates with Wilk's season-long attempts to ensure that the team reaches its peak over the next couple weeks.
"I feel like American was probably one of our best games," Miller said. "I think it was our most consistent. I think we came out right away playing hard, which has been a struggle for us. And I think we played hard the entire game."
In a schedule full of mountains to climb, Saturday's contest in Winston-Salem will be Virginia's Everest.
The Demon Deacons are three-time defending national champions and are the unanimous No. 1 team in the country.
At 15-0, Wake Forest has not suffered a loss in almost a year since being bounced from the 2004 ACC Tournament by North Carolina. Needless to say, Virginia will need to play its finest hockey of the year to summit the Deacons and conquer the top team in the land.
Flynn said she is not intimidated by the prospect of playing the best team in the country, citing Virginia's performance against Wake Forest in the past.
"Each year Wake Forest is tough," Flynn said. "But we put up a fight every year. Last year was a really close game, and the year before was pretty close too. So I definitely think if we go out there from the first whistle that we could take them."
Regardless of whether or not Virginia can wrench a win away from the Deacons, the resilient Cavaliers will return to practice looking to improve in anticipation of yet another pair of big games next week.
"We try very hard to evaluate each and every game and our performance; what aspects of it were good and what aspects of it need to change," Wilk said. "They are playing much better [now] than the beginning of the season, or even a week ago"
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