Cavaliers hope to get over Sweet 16 hurdle

By: Whitelaw Reid | Daily Progress
Published: November 19, 2010

As Virginia goalie Chantel Jones was walking toward a postgame press conference following the team’s win over South Carolina last Sunday, she made a declaration to teammate Sinead Farrelly and a UVa media relations representative.

“We can win this,” stated Jones, referring to an NCAA championship.

At this point, most Virginia soccer fans would probably settle for an appearance in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

This afternoon at Klockner Stadium, second-seeded UVa (15-4-2) hosts third-seeded Ohio State in a Sweet 16 matchup that pits the ACC against the Big Ten.

It’s certainly no secret that the Sweet 16 hasn’t been very sweet to the Wahoos. Virginia has lost in the round in each of the last four seasons, including a 3-0 defeat at UCLA last season.

This year, however, the Cavaliers have one major edge — they get to play at home.

“Previous games like this we’ve been on the road,” said Virginia coach Steve Swanson, whose team is coming off a 3-0 win over South Carolina — one of its best performances of the season, “Hopefully that’s an advantage that we can take advantage of — that we’re in our place and in front of our own fans...

“It doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to win, but hopefully we can take advantage of it.”

Big Ten champion Ohio State (15-4-2) is coming off a win in penalty kicks over Dayton on last Sunday.

“I think we know it’s going to be a competitive game,” Swanson said. “I feel about this game like I have every other game this year — I feel good with where our team is at. They continue to improve.”

Virginia played an exhibition game against Ohio State two springs ago. Swanson said he has a pretty good idea of what to expect.

“We’ve played some teams from the Big 10 over the years,” he said. “They’re strong defensive teams and very organized.

“They’ll be motivated. They’ve had a tremendous season. They’ve got some experience, some leadership. I think it will be a very competitive game. We’re very excited about the opportunity.”

If there was ever a time when UVa was going to break through and get to the College Cup — a goal that Jones, for one, has her sights set on — this would seem to be it. By virtue of No. 1 seed’s Maryland’s loss to Georgetown on Sunday, Virginia gets to play at home all the way until the semifinals.

“We definitely feel confident about where we’re at and what we can do,” said Virginia senior Kika Toulouse. “The game [against Lehigh in the first round] kind of lit a fire under us and made us realize that we can go as far as we want to go.”

Cavaliers hope to get over Sweet 16 hurdle

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