Sophomore goalkeeper Chantel Jones will return this season as Virginia's prodigal goalie after representing the United States at the U-20 World Cup - good news for a team that missed her presence between the posts. This year, however, the task of defending the Cavaliers' net will come with an additional challenge.\nIn her first season as the Virginia keeper, Jones posted 71 saves, averaging an impressive 0.41 goals allowed per game. As she takes up her mantel this year, though, Jones will need to step up to an even greater level because she will be without the veteran backline she had in 2007.\nAll four starters that comprised the Cavalier defense used up their last years of eligibility in 2008, leaving Jones to captain a defensive squad that is mostly untested.\n"Our backline was one of the best backlines in the conference," sophomore defender Katie Carr said. "Losing them is a new change. It's hard getting used to playing with a whole new line."\nNikki Krzysik, Alli Fries, Sarah Senty and Alex Singer made up the starting defense for a Virginia squad that held opponents to a stifling 5.1 shots per game - less than one-third of the total shots Virginia averaged last season. Of the four defenders that played almost every minute of every game in 2008, three are now playing professionally.\n"They are all very quality players," Jones said. "Having them play together for four years just made them that much better,"\nLast season, leadership of the defense fell primarily on the shoulders of Krzysik. The two-time All-American started all but four games in her four years on the team. Jones now needs to pilot the Virginia backline using her experience working with Virginia coach Steve Swanson.\n"I've been working really hard over the summer and in the past with [Swanson] about leadership roles and how to approach people and how to be a better leader," Jones said. "So I guess I'm taking on the load that [Krzysik and the other seniors] left. But it's no problem for me - I'm happy to do it."\nLosing four starters could make forming a formidable backline more difficult. Without a single returning starter, the defense will see many different looks as Swanson shuffles his players around. In addition to mixing and matching different groups of defenders, Swanson plans to capitalize on the versatility of certain midfielders and forwards as well, giving them a chance to play on the backline.\n"It's a long process; it started last spring," Carr said. "We had a whole new backline in the spring and now we have some incoming first years that are helping us out too. It's just all about adjustments."\nThere is, however, a solution to the backline's weakness: time.\n"If you look at the way our defense has been run the past four years
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