To kick off their regular season, the No. 8-ranked Virginia women's soccer team will host Syracuse tonight at 5 p.m. in the first game of a Virginia soccer doubleheader.
In the past, Klöckner Stadium has held quite the home field advantage for the women's team. In 2005, the Cavaliers were 12-1-1 at home -- their one loss came at the hands of Tennessee when the Vols scored the game-winning goal in the final 30 seconds of the contest. In 2004, the Cavaliers remained undefeated at Klöckner until November when they lost 3-0 to Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"I think being here at home will be good for us," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "Our whole non-conference schedule is tough, but we improved an awful lot at our preseason camp and if we have succeeded in improving as much this past week, then I am confident."
The Syracuse Orangemen, who advanced to the Big East tournament last year for the first time since 2000, finished out the 2005 season with a 4-12-4 record. While their stats do not appear intimidating, Swanson does not expect tonight's game to be an easy match.
"Syracuse has a large recruiting class and basically a whole new team from last year," Swanson said. "We don't know much about them and that is what is difficult about playing these first games -- we have very little to go on."
In addition to the ACC powerhouses that Virginia will face this season, the team's non-conference schedule may also prove tough. Playing a talented non-conference team right away will challenge the Cavaliers for multiple reasons. Not only is the team still missing two of its key players, Jess Rostedt and Nikki Krzysik, but they will be facing a team that is rather unfamiliar.
"Everybody [in the NCAA] is in it," Swanson said. "There are 300 and some teams out there that all have a shot at things right now and so they are all excited and will all be motivated. We cannot underestimate anyone."
Currently, health is Swanson's biggest concern. This will be senior Kristin Weiss's first game back from the injured list and all are keeping their fingers crossed that this year she stays off it.
"I just want to be healthy and hope I can stay that way this season," Weiss said. "I am really looking forward to playing and to helping our team achieve its lofty goals."
Despite last week's mediocre exhibition performances against Notre Dame and Michigan State and the shortage of field players, Virginia remains optimistic about the first contest of the regular season. While in the past the Virginia women have taken a little while to warm up and then finish out the season strong, this year the consensus seems to be that the players want to start the season the same way they plan on finishing it.
"I think the Syracuse game will be another good challenge but not one we can't handle," Weiss said. "Seeing as it is our first game, of course we will have to overcome some things. I fully expect them to come out hard and I am sure they are getting as pumped up to play us as we are to play them."
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