A road test for Virginia

When the Virginia women’s lacrosse team takes the field against North Carolina this afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C., the scene doesn’t figure to be as fraught with emotion as it was last Sunday in Charlottesville.

How could it be?

During Virginia’s 14-12 victory over Towson, the mother and sister of former player Yeardley Love were on the sidelines lending their support as song lyrics, “Do you believe in life after love?” reverberated through Klockner Stadium. Love was found dead May 3 and men’s player George Huguely was charged with first-degree murder in connection with her death.

Today, the Loves will only be at the game in spirit. On Wednesday, Virginia coach Julie Myers said that the family — in an effort to get away from all of the media attention — was going to take a break.

Of course, Virginia players will still find themselves under the microscope. The media turnout for today’s game is expected to be so large that North Carolina had to create an auxiliary press tent.

However, Myers still believes that getting out of Dodge for a few days will be a good thing.

“Our team is excited to take to the road and get in a different venue, and kind of be just in a fresh spot,” said Myers, before the team left Charlottesville. “It was great to be home the first weekend, but I do think the general sense of the team is, ‘Let’s go. Let’s step out and have a couple of great dinners, a couple of fun memories and see what the road brings.’”

This afternoon’s NCAA quarterfinal game will be Virginia’s first time on the road since an overtime loss to Northwestern on April 30. Sixth-seeded Virginia (14-5) should enter the matchup with a certain degree of confidence. UVa defeated UNC (16-2) on March 13 in Charlottesville, 13-12.

“I think any time that you beat a team earlier, you feel good about that,” Myers said. “That win really helped us secure a sixth seed going into the tournament.

“It gave us confidence and a chance to play at home in the first round.”

Virginia, though, is a much different team this time around. Since the earlier meeting, the Cavaliers have lost not only Love, but three other players to season-ending ACL injuries. Making the challenge even tougher is the fact that third-seeded UNC hasn’t lost a game on its home field all season.

“It’s going to be up to our entire team to try and cover that gap,” Myers said, “and try and make that win happen again.”

Before the game, there will be a moment of silence for Love, In addition, North Carolina players are expected to wear wristbands with Love’s initials and uniform number (1).

The Tar Heels are coached by Jenny Levy, a Virginia alum and former teammate of Myers. Stevens had wanted to attend Love’s funeral on May 8, but her team had a game.

“I think this has touched everyone — not just my former teammates and our alumni, but the lacrosse world and just people in general,” Myers said. “It’s been really amazing how many people we’ve heard from and how many people have been supportive.”

If Virginia can get past North Carolina, it would play the Duke-Northwestern winner in the Final Four next weekend.

“I think the Towson game was really good preparation for [today],” said Virginia senior Marye Kellermann. “They played us really tough.

“We’re just going to try our best and continue doing what we’ve been doing.”

Added Virginia goalie Lauren Benner: “Once you get to the second round of the NCAAs, any team you play is going to be a really competitive team.”