Everyone loves a good rivalry, as long as their favorite team is playing at home. Fortunately, for the Virginia women's soccer team, Virginia's annual rivalry game with Virginia Tech will take place in Charlottesville this year. The No. 3 Cavaliers (9-1-4, 3-0-3 ACC) have made a living off their superb defensive play this season and will need to maintain that standard tonight at Klöckner Stadium to come away with a win.
"It's always been big when we [Virginia and Virginia Tech] play," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "It will be a difficult game for us, and we hope to get a big crowd. They're a great squad. The Tech game will be another strong environment."
Virginia Tech (5-5-3, 1-3-2 ACC), enters tonight's matchup coming off a big win at N.C. State. The Hokies beat the Wolfpack 4-1 in Raleigh last Sunday, and the win likely provided a great boost of confidence to a team that hasn't played up to its potential thus far.
The Hokies are led by a dynamic offense that includes two prominent forwards: freshman Marika Gray and junior Laurie Beth Puglisi, who have scored seven and five goals respectively. Overall, the duo leads the team with 24 of the team's 50 points.
Defensively, the Hokies are led by a trio of players. Junior defender Kimberly Hickey and senior defender Mary Elizabeth Newton have anchored a defense that has only surrendered 13 goals through 13 games. Additionally, junior goalkeeper Ashley Owens has been an integral part of the Hokie defense and has posted a .812 save percentage, which has allowed her to shut down multiple opponents. The Hokie defense has few holes, and Virginia will need to work cohesively as a unit to exploit any opportunities that may come along.
One approach Virginia is using to counter the Hokies' challenge is attempting to increase its home field advantage. Swanson and his staff and players, are placing a heavy emphasis on encouraging students and faculty to attend the game. Swanson wants to elicit greater support from the student body, particularly to create a more challenging and intimidating environment for opposing teams. Klöckner Stadium already has a reputation as one of the most difficult venues in college soccer, but as Swanson points out, anything extra certainly helps.
"We've talked to a lot of groups, such as the Hoo Crew and the Wahooligans," Swanson said. "We've always had good support from the students. We want to let people know how important this game is for us and what a difference maker they are for us. The crowd has always made a big difference."
Virginia also will look to continue its stellar defensive play to contain the Hokies and set up offensive opportunities. The play of the backline defense, combined with the ability of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chantel Jones has given the Cavaliers one of the nation's best defenses. To date, Virginia has only surrendered four goals, two of which came in an early 2-1 loss to then-No. 10 Stanford at a neutral site in California. Since then, Virginia has only given up two goals, one to arguably the nation's most prolific offense, Florida State, and the other to a nationally ranked Clemson squad. If Virginia is to win this game, it will need to step up its defense and maximize its home field advantage.
"It's a huge game for us," senior forward Shannon Foley said. "It's actually going to be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel. We're really trying to make a big push to get everyone out"
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