Looking to rebound from its worst start in more than a decade, the Virginia field hockey team faces Boston College tonight and Richmond Sunday. The team returns home for the first time in three weeks desperately searching for a spark.
"We're so happy to be back on the blue turf, at home, not on an airplane, or bus, or taxicab," coach Michele Madison said.
The No. 18 Virginia field hockey team has built a sterling reputation under Madison, emerging as a perennial powerhouse during the last two years in the always dominant ACC, which has produced the last nine national champions. During both seasons, Virginia stormed out of the gate to a 9-0 start, lost a total of four games, advanced to the NCAA semifinals and were ultimately denied a trip to the championship game by ACC rival North Carolina by a single goal. That consistency earned the Cavaliers the No. 3 rank in the country heading into the 2011 season, and all of the expectations that come with it.
The team's greatest constant during this year's rocky 4-5 campaign, however, has been disappointing results. During its second game of the season, Virginia lost its first non-conference game since 2008 against No. 8 Penn State. During the ensuing seven-game road trip, Virginia fell to No. 12 Old Dominion and No. 11 California, dropping to 0-3 against ranked opponents. Although it surrendered their No. 3 ranking long ago, losses to California and Northwestern last weekend have jeopardized the team's standing in the top 20 and saddled the Cavaliers with their first three-game losing streak since October 2008.
Now Virginia looks to snap the skid against No. 6 Boston College, a team which paces the ACC in goals, outscoring opponents 32-11 with a 148-73 edge on shots. The Eagles's
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