sal tournament — a modified version of
the game played on a smaller field with
five players per side — when her father,
a former lineman for George Welsh from
1987-90, told her to give it a try.
The fourth-grader struggled.
"I was horrible," Stearns said. "I gave up
like 11 goals every game. I was god-awful.
My dad forced me to stick with it when I
didn't want to.
"Yeah, it's worked out."
Stearns has grown to be a 5-10, natural
athlete who is comfortable and confident
facing the country's top attackers.
Virginia assistant coach Kerry Dzicz-
kaniec, who works primarily with the keep-
ers, said Stearns' breakthrough moment
came at a crucial stage of that UCLA match.
The then-first-year kept things scoreless
with a diving punch to her right, sending a
Stearns, who set the school record for wins with a 2‑0 triumph over George Mason
Aug. 21, had a sparkling career record of 62‑6‑5 through games played Sept. 25.
PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA
