NCAA bid on the line for Cavs

Last season, the ACC tournament was just another step in a process that was clearly going to end in an NCAA tournament appearance for Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team. The Cavaliers had a first-round bye and a 12-2 record heading into the ACC championships.

A year later, Virginia’s backs are against the wall.

“It’s one and done from now on,” said senior attacker Jenny Hauser. “We’re not looking to leave this ACC tournament without a ring on our finger.”

After a regular season that didn’t meet the expectations of a talent-laden squad, the fourth-seeded Cavaliers (10-6) get a chance to make those missteps a distant memory, beginning with a quarterfinal matchup with Virginia Tech today at 1 p.m. in Blacksburg.

Virginia may need an appearance in the tournament final or a championship to wrap up an NCAA berth, but the Cavs will have to take care of business against the fifth-seeded Hokies to make any of that a possibility.

The Cavaliers rolled past Virginia Tech 19-3 in UVa’s season opener. If they knock off the Hokies, they’ll face unbeaten Maryland, who handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the season on March 6. A clash with the Terrapins would be a huge opportunity for Virginia to pick up a recent win against an elite opponent.

“Should we get through Tech, we get a crack at an undefeated team in No. 2 Maryland,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers. “That would really help us surge ahead.”

The low point for the Cavaliers came in a 13-10 loss to Old Dominion back on April 1. Since then, Virginia has gone 3-1, including last Sunday’s narrow 11-10 loss to four-time defending national champion Northwestern.

Against the Wildcats, the Cavaliers seemed to turn the corner, playing their best lacrosse since a February victory over then-No. 3 Syracuse. And that came as little surprise to the Cavaliers, who have stayed focused during the frustrating midseason stretch.

“Things didn’t go as planned but there was never a point where we were like, ‘That’s it, it’s over,’” Hauser said. “We know what we’re capable of — we have so much talent on this team there’s no reason why we should be losing these games or why we can’t go all the way.”

That showed against Northwestern. The Cavaliers appeared more in rhythm offensively, controlling the ball well to help limit an explosive Northwestern squad to just 11 goals. The defense also showed significant improvement, forcing the Wildcats to work for every shot.

“They got a lot of confidence from our game against Northwestern in terms of knowing how well we can play,” Myers said. “They got enough out of that game to make sure that this is a momentum swing that we’re going into.”

To make a run through the ACC tournament, Virginia needs Hauser, Blair Weymouth and Ashley McCulloch to shine offensively. As usual, if those three are clicking, opponents will struggle to stop Virginia.

But the Cavaliers will also likely need that other coveted postseason commodity, a hot goalie. That puts the pressure on Lauren Benner or Sara Hairfield.

Virginia also has to find a way to translate solid play into a victory — not a close loss like the Northwestern game — and fast. The series of ACC slipups has put the Cavaliers into their current situation. But that’s all right with Hauser and Virginia.

“We’re not scared at all,” Hauser said. “We think this is redemption time for those ACC teams that got us in the regular season. This is when it really counts.”