After leaving behind disappointed home crowds in Williamsburg and Princeton, N.J. in their last two games, the Virginia women's lacrosse team will now look to give their own home crowd something to cheer about.
Virginia enters Wednesday's game against No. 17 James Madison riding a two-game winning streak, including a huge victory over rival Princeton. Virginia thumped the Tigers 16-3 this past Saturday behind a dominant defensive performance. Princeton managed only three goals in the first half and was even less effective in the second as Virginia shut out their offense for the last 31:44 of the game.
"We kept the pressure on them," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "We really limited their opportunities."
The victory has revitalized the Virginia squad and helped reestablish their place in the women's lacrosse elite.
"It was huge," senior Nikki Lieb said. "I think it was needed, and it's incredible to win by that much against a really good team like that."
Next up for the Cavaliers is a James Madison team that has followed up a strong start to the season with a mid-season swoon. The Dukes have lost two of their last three games, including an 18-5 blowout against No. 12 Dartmouth in Harrisonburg. Despite the recent setbacks, James Madison remains a dangerous team that has historically played the Cavaliers very tough. Virginia prevailed last year in a tight 8-6 contest. Two years ago, Virginia found itself down 5-1 midway through the first half before rallying to win 12-9.
"They're always feisty and competitive," Myers said. "If there was one team they could beat every year, it would be Virginia."
Lieb acknowledges the rivalry between the two Virginia schools and the Dukes' hunger to beat the more heralded Cavaliers.
"It's definitely a huge game," Lieb said. "They always get up to play us; we're a big game for them."
Virginia's defense has seen significant improvement in the past two games. The Cavalier defense allowed only eight total goals in the games against William & Mary and Princeton. Part of the credit goes to the solid play of senior goalkeeper Ginger Miles, who has returned to solid form after a difficult game against North Carolina. Just as important, though, has been the play of an improving defensive line in front of her that has made Miles' job more manageable and turned the entire defense into a formidable unit.
"She's responded well [to the UNC game], and the team has also played better defense in front of her," Myers said. "Ginger was kind of left out to dry on a couple of those shots. I think our defense has cleaned it up."
Against the scrappy James Madison team, Myers believes the Cavaliers will need solid team play to ensure a victory, emphasizing transitional play from defense to offense as a key against a JMU squad that likes to run and press the advantage.
A veteran of the JMU series, Lieb hopes the Cavaliers can keep up the offensive success they enjoyed against Princeton and tame the Dukes.
"In the past, it's been close," Lieb said. "Last year was pretty close, and it might be like that again, but coming off Princeton, I'm hoping to score a lot of goals this year.
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