The Cavalier Daily
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Virginia plays host to Golden Eagles, Terriers

Around this time last season, the Virginia field hockey team was traveling to Boston, Mass. for the weekend to take on ACC rival Boston College and nearby foe Boston University. In what the team has dubbed "The Boston Massacre," Virginia went 0-2 on the weekend, falling 2-1 to Boston College and 1-0 to Boston University.

This Saturday and Sunday, Virginia has a chance to redeem itself from last season's bad outing in Beantown as No. 10 Boston College (6-2, 0-0 ACC) and No. 19 Boston University (6-2) come to Charlottesville to battle the Cavaliers once more, this time on their home turf.

Boston College and Boston University "are both big, strong, physical teams," Virginia coach Michele Madison said. "We weren't ready for it when we went to Boston last time, so we have to get ready for a fast, strong, physical field hockey game."

Virginia is coming off two regional wins last weekend against William & Mary and No. 8 James Madison. Junior Lucy Myers scored three goals and added an assist in the two games, earning her National Player of the Week from womensfieldhockey.com.

Following last Sunday's win, the Cavaliers were on cloud nine with their performance in their dismissal of the higher-ranked James Madison. The team, however, quickly came back down to earth.

"Right after the game, everybody was really pleased with the win, and excited about it," Madison said. "Now it's just back down to business, and about process and performance, and preparing for the opening of the ACC season."

Saturday's game against Boston College marks the first ACC match for both teams. The Cavaliers set a preseason goal of improving on their 1-4 conference record of last season, a goal made difficult by the fact that each of the five ACC teams currently ranks higher than Virginia. The Cavaliers realize the opportunity that is being given to them by playing Boston College on their home turf.

"We have home field advantage," junior Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn said. "If we play well, we can beat them, but it will be a tough game."

Both the Eagles and the Terriers each have two players who dominate the offense. Sophomore Chelsey Feole and junior Bob Dirks share the lead in points for Boston College with 16 apiece, while senior midfielder Pam Spuehler and senior forward Sarah Shute have 19 and 11 points, respectively. Although Virginia is aware of the threat these players pose, they will not have too much influence on the game plan in either matchup.

The coaches make the players aware of the opponents' solid players and tell them to "'just be on her in the circle, because that's the girl they're looking for,'" Sijpesteijn said. "But we mostly focus on ourselves."

Both Virginia opponents have been hot as of late. Boston College has won six of its last seven matches, with the only loss of that stretch coming at the hands of No. 2 Maryland. Boston University, meanwhile, is on a three-game winning streak. The Terriers' most recent defeat occurred September 7 to none other than Boston College.

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