Earlier this week, I was standing between the turf field and the football practice fields waiting for the field hockey practice to finish. After getting too close to the football team's practice, a Virginia Athletics representative approached me and commented, "Big game this weekend, huh?" Assuming he was referring to football, I acknowledged that Florida State would be a tough test.
In fact, to my surprise he was talking about the field hockey team's upcoming match with North Carolina. But in terms of Virginia home games, it will not get any bigger than the No. 20 Cavaliers' showdown with No. 4 North Carolina Sunday afternoon.
When the Tar Heels storm into town for Sunday's game, they bring with them the top scoring defense in the ACC. In 12 games, UNC has allowed only six goals, shutting out its opponents nine times.
With this in mind, Virginia has spent much of the past week fine-tuning the ball-possession style of offense emphasized by head coach Jess Wilk.
"It's always been a theme," senior midfielder Allie Flynn said. "It's something we just really want to focus on being more consistent with. I think in past years, we've let a lot of games slip because we haven't kept control of the game. Possession is a definite way to keep the game in our hands."
The approach involves contributions in all areas of the game from each position. Defenders, while primarily counted on to prevent the opposition from scoring, also play a major role in carrying out the offense.
"Our defense is key," Flynn said. "Teams like UNC have really attacking backfields, and I think that's something we were really striving for this year -- to have our backfield be part of our attack and make overlapping runs and allow us to have 11 people really attacking simultaneously."
Midfielders have a rather self-explanatory role in the team's effort to matriculate the ball downfield.
"[The job of a midfielder is] basically just being between the backs and the forwards [and] always being an option to get the ball and redistribute," senior Sarah Miller said.
And as defenders contribute on offense, so do forwards venture back to aid on defense. The benefits of bringing forwards back on defense are twofold. First, having 11 people on defense is logically better than only having eight or nine. Second, bringing forwards back enhances the chance for a successful counterattack.
Another area where possession-oriented hockey benefits the Cavaliers is in the tempo of the game.
"All the ACC teams are really highly-skilled teams," Flynn said. "So as much as we can limit their touches on the ball, it's going to help us out. It's not necessarily slowing it down, it's just playing the way we want to play and keeping the ball on our right side of the field."
Having worked on this style of play over the summer and throughout the fall, the Cavaliers know what they need to do to walk off the field Sunday with a win. Now it comes down to execution and gutting it out against one of the top teams in the country.
Read More
Wrestling enters John Paul Jones Arena hoping for a turnaround
By Ryan Weiner | 48 minutes agoThe season's coolest event could double as a big moment in the season's trajectory.
Women’s sports are finally getting the recognition they deserve
By Cierra Lyles | 2 hours agoAttendance at women's sporting events is at an all-time high.
Preseason predictions foreshadow a successful season for softball
By Cierra Lyles | YesterdayFueled by the return of elite talent, Virginia could take another big step forward this year.
