After handily defeating Longwood Wednesday night, Virginia will battle Stanford tonight in a game that will serve as a tune-up before the two last critical ACC games.
In order for Virginia to beat Stanford, the Cavaliers will have to focus for the entire 70 minutes. Against Longwood, Virginia played a strong first half and showed flashes in the second half. However, Virginia needs to play up-tempo for the entire 70 minutes.
"We're going to have to come up with another game plan [for Stanford]," said Virginia coach Michele Madison. "We definitely lost it in the second half. We have to try and bring it back and play it for longer,because it's about 35 minutes now and that's it."
The Cavaliers have won four of their last five but have had a problem finishing games this season. In a 5-3 win over Richmond earlier this season, Virginia allowed the Spiders to tie the game twice before finally pulling away. Against James Madison, the Cavaliers had to go to overtime to get the win in a game in which they held a 2-0 lead at halftime. Against Longwood the Cavaliers came much closer to playing a complete game.
"We got a lot of opportunities -- they just didn't go in," said sophomore center back Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn. "We had the press setin the second half, and there were opportunities, we just weren't able to[penetrate the circle]."
Virginia will have to convert some of their opportunities against a Stanford team that has struggled against ranked teams this year, losing all five games against such foes. The Cardinal has also struggled on the road so far, with only one win and three loses in games played away from Palo Alto.
However, Stanford has talent that could cause Virginia problems. Junior goalie Madison Bell has earned the NorPac defensive player of the week award four times this year and has recorded ten or more saves three times. Bell also stepped up her game most against elite competition, recording 16 saves against third-ranked Wake Forest and 13 saves against top-ranked Maryland. Virginia will have to depend on senior Mia Link and Kaars Sijpesteijn to score early and often so that Bell cannot keep the Cardinal in the game. If Stanford can stay within a goal heading into the second half, the Cardinal may be able to spring an upset. Madison, though, is confident the team will focus for the full game and put away Stanford.
"I don't think that we are in a position to overlook anybody -- not until we can compete for 70 minutes," Madison said. "Stanford is well coached, they move the ball well,and nobody's rolling over and dying just because they're coming to U.Va. Wehave to be on our toes and ready for the game"
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