The Virginia women's soccer team returns from fall break to take on a talented Maryland squad Thursday in College Park. The Cavaliers are looking to rebound from a 0-1 loss to rival Virginia Tech.
The team started out with a strong ACC campaign, beating Clemson 7-1 and NC State 6-0. The close loss in Blacksburg, however, threw a wrench into the Cavaliers’ conference title aspirations.
“We were prepared, but we didn’t prepare ourselves before the game,” senior defender Nikki Krzysik said. “Nobody was really there, nobody really wanted to win; [Virginia Tech] just wanted it more. We have to learn from that — every game counts, every shutout counts, every goal counts.”
Virginia led the Hokies 17-5 in shots on goal, but soccer is a game of inches. Virginia Tech found the back of the net early in the second half, and the Cavaliers could not capitalize on their second-half chances, including four corner kicks.
Krzysik, however, noted that while opportunities to score abounded, the offensive statistics were somewhat misleading.
“The chances we had weren’t quality chances,” she said. “We were shooting from 35-40 yards out. That goes up as a statistic, but if you were at the game, you realize that if we had had one more pass out and a pass back in, it would have been a better chance.”
The Cavaliers are looking to their seniors to lead them Thursday as they close out the road portion of their schedule at Maryland before finishing the season with four conference games at Klöckner Stadium.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “It’s very early in the ACC season as far as I’m concerned. We just have to make sure we are working on the things that are going to help make us a better soccer team.”
Heading into the game against Maryland, Virginia is ranked No. 12 in the nation, while the Terrapins, and also the Hokies, are unranked. This game is the final chance for the team to fine-tune its offense before it returns to Klöckner to take on a host of top-25 foes, including perennial national and ACC powerhouse North Carolina, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.
“Last year we had a lot of home games and we were kind of focused on how to be a better team on the road," Krzysik said. "This has been a long stretch of away games; we will be glad to be back at Klöckner.”
As the Cavaliers’ last road game, Krzysik stressed the importance of the matchup with Maryland.
“It's going to be a huge turning point in our season,” Krzysik said. “We have to go there with the same intensity that we would have at any other game or any game we have at Klöckner.”
Last week’s sputtering offense aside, the Cavaliers have been dominant on defense all season with the exception of a 3-0 road loss against West Virginia Sept. 21. Taking away the loss to the Mountaineers, Virginia has out-scored its opponents 36-8. In Virginia's final four ACC contests, the team will strive to maintain its stinginess on the defensive side of the ball.
One constant after wins and losses this season has been Virginia's attitude that what matters is the next match.
“We have to put [last week’s loss] behind us and look forward; we can’t dwell on it," Krzysik said. "If we dwell on it, we’ll be stuck there and not getting better. It’s behind us, it’s done, we can’t change it — we are looking at Maryland.”
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