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FEBRUARY 2023 21 BY KRISTIN THURMAN T he Cavaliers begin their 48th season of women's lacrosse in 2023. Last season, UVA extended its streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 26 and advanced to the round of 16. Virginia returns ACC Rookie of the Year Ra- chel Clark, and preseason All-Americans Ash- lyn McGovern and Aubrey Williams. Clark set a UVA first-year record with 64 goals to lead the Cavaliers in 2022. Clark and McGovern, a graduate student who contributed 63 goals last year, lead a talented attack group that will see UVA's top seven scorers returning. All seven had at least 20 goals a year ago. With the offensive firepower back, the Cava- liers also will see the return of three starting defenders as well as goalkeeper Ashley Ver- non. The fourth-year netminder made 139 saves to rank fourth in the ACC a year ago. UVA's team had to rely on its young talent last season with key fourth- years and leaders on the team suffering season-ending injuries. "Our injuries were to our leaders and fourth-year kids," head coach Julie Myers said. "Our younger kids were supposed to follow their leads, but then they had to carry a college team in the ACC." Midfielders Courtlynne Caskin and Annie Dyson both went down with injuries early in the season, forcing newcomers to step into roles. Second-year Abby Manalang played in 17 games and notched a pair of assists as a rookie. Along with Clark, second-year Kate Miller made a huge impact on the attack. She scored 27 goals — fourth on the team — during her rookie season. This season, the Cavaliers will have Caskin, a graduate student, back to lead the group of young midfielders along with the strong attack veterans. UVA also made some changes on the coaching staff. My- ers, now in her 27th season at the helm, brought in defensive coach Brittany Dipper and offensive coach Ally Kennedy. Dipper was an All-America goalkeeper and Kennedy is a current U.S. National Team member and a recent graduate from Stony Brook where she was an All-America attacker. "[Kennedy] can talk with them in real time and with real recent experiences," My- ers said. "Brittany Dipper, she was a goalie of the year and a national champion in field hockey and lacrosse. "In terms of what always made our de- fense stronger in years past, Dipper has been coaching our system and the way we've been doing things for years." Along with new coaches on staff, Myers also brings in a talented group of newcomers. Three transfers will bring a lot of experience on the field for UVA. The Cavaliers added two defenders, Annika Meyer and Kacy Hogarth. Meyer is a graduate student transfer from Johns Hopkins and Hogarth joins the Cava- liers as a third-year from Maryland. Darby Welsh is also a graduate transfer from Mary- land and will bring experience to the midfield. Virginia will also add eight first-year players who will have the opportunity to push the vet- erans and challenge for spots on the field. The 2023 schedule features a great bal- ance of teams from six different conferences. UVA will open the season with a cross-coun- try road trip to play Stanford and UC Davis in Palo Alto, Calif. The Cavaliers host six games, including five ACC contests. This year's sched- ule also will help grow the sport, featuring Clemson, an ACC school with a first-year var- sity program in women's lacrosse. UVA Looks To Extend Long NCAA Tournament Streak 2023 SEASON PREVIEW WOMEN'S LACROSSE Graduate student Ashlyn McGovern recorded 15 hat tricks en route to 63 goals and finished sixth in the ACC with an average of 3.15 goals per game last year. (Photo by Jim Daves/courtesy UVA)