Defense may win championships, but offense definitely sells tickets. If this mantra holds true, Klöckner Stadium will be packed all season for the Virginia women's soccer team. The 2007 Cavaliers seem poised for a strong year on the offensive side of the field thanks to the return of an experienced group of midfielders and forwards.
Virginia will be led by an experienced midfield corps, which is a change from last season. The 2006 Cavaliers were faced with the tough task of replacing three All-American midfielders and succeeded. A group composed of junior Jen Redmond, junior Kelly Quinn, senior Julia Falk and others came together last season and developed into an efficient and cohesive unit. Redmond led the Cavaliers in assists last season, Quinn logged three goals and three assists before suffering a season-ending knee injury and Falk stepped in to fill Quinn's void after she sustained the injury. Redmond, Quinn and Falk all return this season and will look to pick up right where they left off. Redshirt freshmen Megan Ashforth and Kristin Bowers return for the 2007 season after missing all of last season with injuries. Ashforth and Bowers will add additional experience to an already veteran midfield group. The experience prevalent among Virginia's midfielders along with the addition of several talented freshmen should transform the midfield into a strength rather than a weakness.
"I like our depth. I think this is the first time in several years that we've got the kind of depth that I think we really need," coach Steve Swanson said. "The last couple of years we haven't had as much depth as we would have liked and that limits the team's versatility."
At forward Virginia will again be led by one of the most talented and exhilarating players in women's soccer: junior Jess Rostedt. Rostedt earned All-American honors last season while leading Virginia in scoring for the second year in a row. Seniors Shannon Foley, Sarah Curtis and sophomore Caitlin Miskel also return for the Cavaliers. Foley was a key missing ingredient last year as she was out all season with an injury. Foley returns to the starting line-up this season at full strength and only three assists short of the school record. Miskel and Curtis are both coming off of excellent offensive seasons as they respectively put up three goals and four assists and five goals and two assists last year. Quinn, normally a midfielder, has been used in the past at forward and could see some time at the position this season as well. The Cavaliers will have a wealth of dangerous options at forward and have also added five freshmen to the mix. Virginia will be a tough team to defend, and its offensive prowess will likely be its strong point.
"We have a lot of returning starters and we have a great freshman class coming in," Rostedt said. "We're looking pretty good."
Perhaps the biggest obstacle Virginia will need to overcome this season to have success is its schedule. The Cavaliers normally play a difficult schedule; the competition in the ACC all but ensures that. This season, however, the Cavs are facing an unusually daunting schedule. Eleven of Virginia's 18games will come against 2006 NCAA Tournament teams. Furthermore, Virginia will have to face last year's top two teams: North Carolina and Florida State. Both teams made it to the College Cup and North Carolina took home the National Championship. Despite their tough schedule, the Cavaliers believe they have what it takes to beat the odds.
"I think we need to not worry about how tough our schedule is," Rostedt said. "We need to just go out there and play offensively rather than defensively."
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