Given last week's loss to East Carolina, the mere thought of the upcoming Virginia vs. Virginia Tech football game should make most Cavalier fans queasy. Tonight, however, the school rivalry will play out on the soccer field, and the Virginia women are poised to make their fans proud.
"Tech is always going to be a tough game just because it's such a big rivalry," junior forward Sarah Curtis said. "We don't like to think about what's happened in years past. Each year the teams are different, and we always have a good game."
That said, the fact remains that Tech has never won a match against Virginia. Tonight is the 11th all-time meeting between the two teams and their fourth meeting since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004. In their two previous ACC regular season matchups, Virginia has won 3-0 and 4-0 in 2004 and 2005, respectively. They also downed Tech 8-0 in the 2004 quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Nevertheless, Virginia coach Steve Swanson and his team insist the game will be very competitive.
"They are a tough team to break down," Swanson said. "They are organized defensively, and they have some weapons up top that we will have to be careful of. I am expecting a difficult match."
Indeed, Virginia knows that their record against the Hokies will cause Virginia Tech to be even hungrier. Just last Thursday, the Cavaliers played North Carolina, a team they have failed to post a win against in more than thirty matchups, and gave it everything they had.
"I thought we played a very good match against UNC even though we lost," Swanson said. "We took that intensity from Thursday over to last Sunday and had a good match against Clemson, so hopefully we are getting a little more consistent in our play."
Last weekend at Clemson, Virginia won its first game on the road this season. Their 1-0 win over the Tigers was crucial because struggling on the road was becoming a mental roadblock for the team. Especially with the post-season tournaments fast approaching, the Cavaliers needed to prove to themselves, more than anyone, that they can win in a hostile environment.
"We haven't done as well on the road this year as we would have liked," Curtis said. "We didn't want to let [Clemson] impose their style of play on us, and we didn't. We were able to create our own atmosphere and play our game in an environment other than Klöckner."
Tonight's game is Virginia's last before a week-long break. The team is looking forward to the chance to rest and regroup before concluding ACC regular season play against Boston College, Maryland and N. C. State.
"The big thing is taking care of the game against Virginia Tech," Swanson said. "Then, hopefully after that, the players will get a chance to recharge their batteries and maybe get ahead in their studies. That, along with some and quality training time to prepare for the stretch run."
The winner of tonight's game will also win a point for their school in the Commonwealth Challenge, the annual all-sports competition between Virginia and Virginia Tech. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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