Deep Cavs look to take the next step

It’s not often that an ACC championship-caliber program feels the need to ramp up offseason expectations for its players. Apparently, complacency isn’t an issue in Virginia’s women’s lacrosse program.

Then again, two first-round exits from the NCAA tournament in three years will do that to a team. 

“It’s happened now twice for me, and it’s just awful,” said midfielder Blair Weymouth. “It makes you work hard in the offseason, run a little extra, go shoot around a little bit more and be a lot more focused.”

It can also force coaches to change what they require of their teams, an adjustment head coach Julie Myers and her staff made early on in the offseason.

“We kind of cranked up the volume of what we were asking of our team — what they were willing to do when we weren’t looking in really bringing their best fitness and committing to doing the right thing,” Myers said.

If Myers has her way, the changes could create a rare combination — a hungry, talented defending ACC championship squad looking to make a deep run into the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers bring back a lot of pieces from last year’s ACC title squad, with Weymouth, Jenny Hauser and Ashley McCulloch — the top three scorers back in the fold. In total, five players who scored more than 30 points are back, and all six had 24 or more goals.

“We don’t have maybe one person that is going to be the star,” McCulloch said. “We have a lot of different people who can step up at different times. We all have our different talents.”

McCulloch, who led the 2008 Cavaliers in scoring, sets the table for the unit, as she totaled 34 assists as a junior. Weymouth is a dynamic force who battled a knee injury last season and still managed to pour in 35 goals, while Hauser, who Weymouth described as a “lefty powerhouse,” finished with 36 goals last year. There’s also speedy junior Kaitlin Duff who had 26 goals.

Throw into the mix a talented influx of newcomers including fast redshirt freshman Ainsley Baker as well as Josie Owen and Julie Gardner — both two-time first-team high school All-Americans — and the Cavaliers have an abundance of offensive options in both the attack and the midfield. 

“We definitely have a good mix, and I think we’re starting to get a feel for each other,” McCulloch said. “Hopefully on Wednesday it’ll all come together, but we’re definitely still in the learning stages, trying to fix the mistakes we’re having.”

That surplus of options on offense allowed Myers to move Brittany Kalkstein, a talented junior midfielder who scored 30 goals in 2008, back to defense. There she’ll solidify an experienced unit with 2007 third-team All-American Jen Holden and sophomore Liz Downs.

“[Kalkstein] really anchors our defense,” Myers said. “We’re working on a zone with different combinations of pressure, so having [Kalkstein] back really helps us take some of those chances.”

That group, who all three started all 18 games last year, will be key to the success of new goalies Lauren Benner and Sara Hairfield, who have been handed the unenviable task of replacing two-time ACC tournament MVP Kendall McBrearty. According to Myers, Benner appears to be the leader in the competition right now and will likely get the early chance in the cage.

“She does bring great leadership, she can communicate well,” Myers said. “She’s finding her rhythm, and I think our team if we play good defense, Lauren can play the style that fits her and still play very effectively.”

The goalies certainly impressed their teammates during the early season scrimmages.

“It was probably one of the biggest shocks to me down in Florida,” Weymouth said. “Everyone was like, ‘Eyes on the goalies, how are they going to do?’ and both of them played amazingly well — they were awesome. I think that was a huge surprise and really exciting for us to see.”

Virginia will try and put the entire package together starting today with a 4 p.m. matchup with Virginia Tech in the Cavaliers’ regular season opener.