The Cavaliers begin regular season play tomorrow afternoon against Indiana at Turf Field. Despite a disappointing end to last season that included six straight losses and an early exit in the conference tournament, Virginia rides into this season looking to compete in the ACC and boast their first winning season since 2001.
Even though the Cavaliers and the Hoosiers have never met before, new head coach Michele Madison has seen plenty of Indiana during her tenure as head coach at Michigan State University.
"We'll expect them to play with good ball speed," Madison said of her former conference rival. "They have solid transitional play and they have an excellent goalkeeper."
Despite her previous experience coaching against Indiana, Madison admits that the focus of practice has been on the progress of her own team rather than the play of Indiana.
"We have to focus on our own objectives," Madison said. "The team came back at a fairly good fitness level but we have some things that we have to build on in that area."
The Cavaliers will return six starters from the 2005 season, including senior standout Mia Link. As a sophomore, Link notched 35 points, putting her among the national leaders. Last year, Link scored six goals and had one assist despite missing four games while playing for the U.S. National Team.
Senior Lindsay O'Bannon will also provide the Cavaliers with an offensive boost. O'Bannon scored five goals last season, one of which was a game-winner. Just as important as her offensive ability, however, is O'Bannon's experience. In the 2005 campaign, she started in every game.
The Hoosiers, however, bring their own fair share of talent to Charlottesville. In their two preseason games against Ball State and No. 14 Louisville, Indiana scored a combined total of seven goals.
"Indiana is a solid Big Ten team," Madison said. "They are coming off one of their best years in quite some time. They are definitely a strong opponent to start with."
Among the Hoosiers' most skilled players are senior forward Lydia Schrott and junior forward Frederique Meeuwsen. Schrott and Meeuwsen combined last year for 22 goals.
Indiana, however, has lost several players to graduation. Four of their top five point-scorers finished their collegiate careers at the end of last season.
That means that Indiana head coach Amy Robertson will depend on her younger players to step up and provide the team with a spark this season.
While the Hoosiers will look toward their freshman and sophomores to step up, the Cavaliers will rely on their experience -- returning 14 letter-winners from last season.
"At the start of the off-season, we weren't sure what to expect," senior goalkeeper Katherine Blair said. "But now that we've seen what we can do, the sky is the limit."
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