In Virginia's 6-1 domination of Radford field hockey Wednesday, the Cavaliers outperformed the Highlanders more than any opponent this season. When No. 19 Virginia (8-6, 0-2 ACC) takes on No. 1 North Carolina (14-0, 3-0 ACC) Sunday, however, such a dominating victory is hardly likely.
Virginia's five-goal margin of victory against Radford easily eclipsed the next biggest margin of three goals against California. In the game against the Golden Bears, Virginia and California both managed 13 shots apiece. Against Radford, however, the statistics reflected the scoreboard as the Cavaliers fired 20 shots to the Highlanders' seven.
"No one's just going to give it to you," Virginia coach Michele Madison said. "[Radford] came after us. They had opportunities themselves, but I thought [we] just stepped it up."
Sophomore Traci Ragukas spearheaded the Cavaliers' offensive outburst, playing a role in five of Virginia's goals; the forward scored two, assisted one and earned a penalty stroke and a short corner that led to two more. With her offensive contribution Wednesday, Ragukas took the team lead in points (17) and goals (8). Madison, however, said she doesn't have to score to make a contribution.
Ragukas "doesn't understand how much she contributes besides just finishing," Madison said. "But she's a leader and she wants to finish it off."
With the North Carolina game looming ahead, Ragukas and company know that to have a chance they must at least repeat Wednesday's effort.
On top of being undefeated, the Tar Heels have been exceptional lately, shutting out their opponents in their last nine games.
North Caroline "is coming in here and is just crushing teams," Madison said. "It's just our turn to have a go."
The Tar Heels also boast three members of the U.S. National Team in seniors Rachel Dawson and Jesse Gey and freshman Katelyn Falgowski. All three players are competing for the U.S. this week in a five-game series against Japan before rejoining the team for Sunday's match against Virginia. Coming into Chapel Hill's game tonight against William & Mary Dawson leads the nation in goals (14) and is tied with Gey for third in the country in points (32). Falgowski, who is third on the team in points (23), leads the nation in assists (17).
As the Cavaliers prepare for the star-studded roster that North Carolina offers, they can take some comfort in their recent outing against Maryland two weeks ago. Although the 4-0 loss suggests that the Terrapins were simply out of the Cavaliers' league, Virginia in fact won the shooting and short corner battles 13 to 10 and four to three, respectively. The team reiterates what the statistics suggest: The issue wasn't that Maryland was the better team that day, but rather that the Terrapins took advantage of their opportunities to score.
"That shows that we can play with those teams," Ragukas said. "We just need to get the ball in the goal."
Not only can Virginia look to the Maryland game for confidence -- they can remember last season. Virginia finished 1-4 in the conference last year, taking their first ACC victory since the 2000 season. That win was an upset over none other than North Carolina.
"Last year we went in there thinking, 'Oh god it's UNC,' and we came out with the win," Ragukas said. "Anything can happen in these games."
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