Losing a game 5-0 in a single-elimination tournament is certainly not the way any team wants to end its season. Last Friday, however, that is exactly what happened to the Virginia women's soccer team when it was defeated by UCLA in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously we're very disappointed with the result," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "I thought UCLA deserved to win -- there's no question about that -- but we certainly didn't feel we played our best, and at that stage of the Tournament, it's difficult to win if you don't play your best."
The last game however, is hardly indicative of the season the Cavaliers have had. Virginia's success this season should not be measured by its end but rather by the progress the team made throughout the year.
The first two weeks of the season, the Cavaliers went 3-2-1. For the rest of the regular season, they were 10-2. In the postseason, the team competed in the ACC Championship and made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament -- something that has only happened three times in the history of the program. The Cavaliers finished the season 18-6-1, tying the school record for most wins. While the final result was not what it may have wished for, the team was happy to have made it as far in the tournament as it did.
"The way we played, I don't think we would have beaten many teams that day," Swanson said. "But that's just a game, it is not indicative of our season, and I feel very proud of the kids for the way they've improved all season."
A large part of this improvement can be attributed to the youth of the team. At the beginning of the season, Virginia had not only the incoming freshmen but also had a handful of sophomores who redshirted their freshman year to compete with the U-19 team in Thailand. At times, half of the team playing on the field was new. Since then, many of the freshmen have become key players on the team. Three of the freshmen -- Nikki Krysik, Kelly Quinn and Jess Rostedt -- were named to the ACC All Freshmen team, and Rostedt, who could not play in the final game because of a lacerated liver, was named ACC Freshman of the Year.
"At the beginning of the year, it was hard to know exactly how the year was going to play out," senior Sarah Huffman said. "Our preseason games didn't go exactly how we wanted them to go, but if you look over the year, we've progressed a tremendous amount. While it's the same group of players, it's a completely different team."
A lot of the credit for the maturing of the freshmen, however, can be given to the older players on the team. In the back, junior Becky Sauerbrunn helped an almost completely new backline learn the ropes, while senior midfielders Noelle Keselica, Kelly Hammond and Huffman led the offense.
"This year was a real challenge in a lot of way because we had so many new faces," Swanson said. "I think we were fortunate to have such great leadership from our seniors. I think they were the catalyst that pulled the team together."
The progress the Cavaliers made throughout the year, as well as the relative youth of the team, bode well for the future of the program. Virginia has not made a quarterfinal since 2001, so to make it this year shows just how far the team can go in the future.
"I definitely think they are headed to a National Championship in the near future," Huffman said. "We came close to the Final Four this year, and hopefully they can reach that goal next year. There are outstanding players on the team, the coaches will hopefully be bringing in good freshmen next year, so I definitely think the Final Four and a National Championship are within grasp"
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