The Cavaliers demonstrated their resiliency and established their ability to play with the top teams in the nation last weekend. They beat Iowa 1-0 in the first round, then lost, 3-2, to Wake Forest in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia, which lost to No. 1 Maryland after upsetting Boston College in the ACC Tournament, found itself in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.
Despite not having a single player on the team with NCAA Tournament experience, Virginia still managed to reach the second round of the tournament before falling to the Demon Deacons in the final minute of play. After the Cavaliers tied the game at two, Wake Forest scored the game-winning goal with just 70 seconds left in regulation.
Madison, however, was pleased with the growth her team showed throughout the course of the season as well as in the tournament.
Beating Iowa and coming up just short against Wake Forest "was a big step for the program and the players," Virginia coach Michelle Madison said. "The coaching staff couldn't be more proud of the team. When we started the season, we didn't know if we could [make the tournament], but we knew that if we could get a team together rather than a group of individuals, we would have a chance."
The Cavaliers, who finished the regular season with a No. 10 ranking, a 6-3 record in regional play and a 1-4 conference record, relished the opportunity to prove they could keep up with the top-ranked teams in the nation. The experience in the tournament proved even more bittersweet for the graduating seniors who, after three mediocre seasons, saw their season end in the NCAA Tournament rather than the ACC Tournament.
"There are no words to describe it," senior goalkeeper Kat Blair said. "It was just very exciting to play [in the tournament]. Everyone loves competing for a national championship."
For the Cavaliers, however, the road to the tournament was a long one. Even though Virginia jumped out to a 7-1 record after its first eight games, Madison saw her team struggle to put together a "complete game" as the team went on to lose three of their next four contests.
It was during these periods of inconsistency that the team suffered some of its most disappointing defeats -- a 2-1 loss to Boston University and a 5-1 loss to Maryland in the regular season.
As the season went on, however, Virginia came "closer to playing a complete game," Madison said. "Against Maryland last week [in the ACC Tournament], we played well for 65 minutes. Against Wake Forest [on Sunday] we played well for 69 minutes."
Had the Cavaliers been able to hang tough for the full 70 minutes, they might have been able to earn themselves a spot in the semifinals. The loss, however, forces them to not only reflect on a season of tremendous growth, but also to look ahead at the direction of the program.
"I think that seven people have already committed to come play here," Blair said. "Every year this program is going to get better."
Finding the success that the team experienced this year will not be an easy feat. Virginia will graduate six seniors, including Blair, mid/back Biffy Cornelison and All-ACC mid Mia Link.
"We have to reassess, re-evaluate, and recruit," Madison said. "We will have to try and bring in players to replace the ones that we will be losing. Our goal next season is to do better than we did this year."
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