All season, the Virginia field hockey team has been talking about the importance of games against Big South opponents. So far, No. 17 Virginia has justified its ranking relative to its regional counterparts, defeating unranked Richmond and falling to No. 13 Old Dominion in a hard-fought contest.
This weekend's regional home matches against No. 26 William & Mary and No. 8 James Madison give the Cavaliers a chance not only to show that they belong in the national poll, but to show that the team is even better than the ranking suggests.
"It's tough competition in-state; it's for bragging rights for sure," Virginia coach Michele Madison said. "The team that pulls out the 'W' rubs it in the other one's face for a long time."
Virginia (3-2, 0-0 ACC) comes off a sweep of New Hampshire and Vermont in the Sheraton Catamount Classic last weekend to put their record above the .500 mark. Performance and progression have been the themes for the Cavaliers since day one of preseason, and the team is happy on both counts as they enter this weekend.
"We got the results, and they performed well enough," Madison said. "The game against New Hampshire, we put two halves together against a very tough New Hampshire team."
William & Mary (4-2) is coming off two wins against Longwood and Miami(OH). In a rare occurrence for Virginia, the Cavaliers have the edge over the Tribe in experience; only six of the 24 players on the Tribe's roster are upperclassmen. Nevertheless, William & Mary brings a talented young squad that the Cavaliers cannot take lightly.
"William & Mary is young, but they're always skilled and relentless," Madison said. "We have our hands full, that's for sure."
James Madison (4-1) also comes to Charlottesville on a two-game winning streak. Victories at No. 7 Penn State, who Virginia fell to in its first game of the season, and at Saint Joseph's have allowed the Dukes to ascend to their highest ranking since 1999.
Virginia is additionally motivated in the match against the Dukes because they have yet to defeat a higher-ranked team. The Cavaliers came up short in both opportunities to knock off a higher-ranked team in games against Penn State and Old Dominion. As Virginia vies for a berth into the NCAA Tournament, the team must show that it can defeat highly ranked opponents.
"As a team, it would just build up our confidence," sophomore Traci Ragukas said.
Ragukas has additional motivation personally as well, since two of her cousins, senior Lauren Stefaniak and junior Melissa Stefaniak, are members of the James Madison team.
"I played them during high school too, and they're always just fun, competitive games," Ragukas said. "It's a lot of fun playing them."
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