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"She's a player who when the ball is at her feet has an uncanny ability to cut and change directions in tight spaces," Raab said. "She's also a very good striker of the ball with both feet, which is a skill that you can't underestimate the value of … "She can hurt you with her left foot and she can hurt you with her right foot. That makes her very dangerous." Virginia third-year Kate Norbo says opposing defenses must always account for Miller's where- abouts. "She's one of those players who's a threat every time she steps on the field," Norbo said. "And she's always going to bring very good intensity." Miller has a signature cut move, which has the same kind of an effect as an ankle- breaking cross-over dribble in basketball that leaves de- fenders flat footed. "Even if you know it's distance to home," said Miller, whose older brother played lacrosse at Navy. "I'm kind of a homebody. I love having my parents be able to be at every game. That wouldn't have happened if I had gone to Florida, so that was a really big thing for me." Miller, who majored in foreign affairs and hopes to go into a career in broadcasting after she gradu- ates this May, says she has zero regrets about her choice. "UVa has been great," she said. "It's been so much fun. I've had some really great professors and it's just been an overall great experience." Raab says it's been a joy to watch Miller develop on and off the field. "She's one of those players who's a threat every time coming, it's still hard to defend," Norbo said. "She just has it down so well. It's just years and years of practice that have made it so good. "It's a great offensive weapon for sure." Growing up, Miller dabbled in figure skating, ice hockey and gymnastics before deciding to focus on soccer in the seventh grade. "I was just better at it than I was at the other sports," she said, laughing. As a kid, Miller looked up to soccer star Mia Hamm. "I think she was every kid's idol," Miller said. "She was always who I wanted to be as a kid. She had great hair. "But honestly, she was just always scoring goals." Coming out of Walter Johnson High School, Miller was heavily recruited. In the end, she picked Virginia over Florida. "UVa was academically better and it was also the "A lot of the credit goes she steps on the field." TEAMMATE KATE NORBO ON MILLER to her for the hard work and effort," Raab said. "She's had a willingness to learn and put forth the time and effort to become the player that she is." So far, the on-field results have been good this season. Miller helped Virginia to a 7-1 start, which included two impressive wins on the road at Texas and SMU. "I think we're really coming together and mesh- ing together really well as a team this year," Miller said. "I think we've been playing well and it keeps getting better and better." Last season, Virginia was finally able to make it past the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. However, it became bittersweet after a disappoint- ing 3-0 loss to Florida State in the quarterfinals. "That kind of lingers with everyone all the time," said Miller, recalling the defeat in Tallahassee. "I think everyone is fired up this season to have an even better season and go even further." If not, she'll always have that UNC memory. "I think that probably takes the cake over any other [sports] accomplishment in my life," Miller said. "It was probably the best day of all time." ◆ CAVALIER CORNER ◆ OCTOBER 2012 ◆ 41