The No. 3 Virginia women's field hockey team - off to its best start since 1979 - will travel to College Park, Md. to take on the top-ranked, defending national champion Terrapins.
The Cavaliers (11-0, 1-0 ACC) are coming off a hard-fought 4-3 win against in-state foe Richmond. In that game, sophomore forward Paige Selenski scored two goals for Virginia, increasing her season total to 12. The highly touted Cavalier defense, though, yielded three goals to the Spiders - the most by an opposing team this season.
Maryland (11-0, 2-0 ACC) has already seen its fair share of competition this season, blowing past then-No. 3 Wake Forest 4-1 and dominating then-No. 9 Boston College 6-2.. The Cavalier defense will have step up if Virginia wants to remain undefeated as it faces the country's top offense, which averages close to six goals per game - two more than the Cavaliers. 2008 ACC and womensfieldhockey.com Offensive Player of the Year junior forward Katie O'Donnell has already recorded 44 points on 14 goals and 16 assists this season.
Playing alongside O'Donnell is senior forward Nicole Muracco who leads the Terps with 15 goals. O'Donnell was the captain of the 2009 Junior World Cup team that included teammates Alexis Pappas and Brianna Davies, as well as Virginia midfielders Michele Vittese, Tara Puffenberger and Selenski. Of the 18 players on the Junior World Cup team, six of them will be on the field Friday afternoon when the Cavaliers and Terrapins face off.
Virginia will look to avenge last year's two losses to Maryland, which both came in overtime - once in the regular season and again in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
"I'm not worried about our intensity coming out against them because we always come out strong against them," Selesnki said. "We have to just work on getting the passing combinations going and put the ball in the goal."
The Cavaliers will most likely find an advantage on defense. Prior to the game against the Spiders, junior goalkeeper Kim Katsuk led the country in goals against average (0.11) and was second in save percentage (0.941), allowing just one goal all season. The 2008 America East Goalkeeper of the Year and Boston University transfer has stepped in and contributed immediately for Virginia, providing an anchor for the Cavaliers in the cage.
"As far as I'm concerned I am planning on having a shutout," Katsuk said. "I have a lot of respect for their program and all of their players. It will be very competitive, but that is why you play the game."
Virginia boasts an extremely quick and athletic defense that has helped record seven shutouts this season - three more than all of last season. Dutch backs sophomore Floor Vogels and freshman Charlotte van den Broek have suffocated opposing forwards, limiting them to five shots per game.
Friday's game against Maryland could be one of the most exciting games in program history for the Cavaliers. If Virginia is able to stifle the Terrapin attack and transition to offense effectively, it will be looking at its first 12-0 start in school history.
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