Before last year, the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team had no business even sharing the field with Virginia. Why should they? Syracuse had gone 0-for-existence against the Cavaliers.

But Syracuse — which had only existed for five years — didn’t know Virginia’s lacrosse tradition. And if the Orangewomen did, it didn’t faze them.

When Syracuse traveled to Charlottesville, Va. for its early season meeting with No. 7 ranked UVa last year, people expected the Orangewomen to leave with their tails between their legs. Instead, they exited with the best win in team history.

No. 3 Virginia will try for retribution on Saturday when it faces the Orangewomen in the Carrier Dome at noon.

The game will be the season-opener for both teams because Virginia’s scheduled game against William and Mary on Wednesday was postponed due to inclement weather.

Although the No. 14 Orangewomen are concentrating on Saturday’s game, they can’t help but think back to last year for motivation.

The 12-10 win was instrumental in putting Syracuse women’s lacrosse on the map.

‘It was a shock to the lacrosse world,’ head coach Lisa Miller said. ‘When a northern team beats a southern team, it’s always a bit of a shock.’

But the Orangewomen aren’t playing last year’s Cavaliers. Virginia comes to the Dome boasting a No. 3 ranking according to Inside Lacrosse. They also claim four preseason All-Americans.

Of that group, Lauren Aumiller is the most dangerous. Last year’s national scoring leader will be a tough matchup for Syracuse’s man-to-man defense. In last year’s loss to the Orangewomen, Aumiller scored five goals and had an assist.

Syracuse senior Ellen Rust will most likely draw the assignment of containing Aumiller, but she said she’ll be prepared.

‘(Aumiller’s) a great player,’ Rust said. ‘But I play against Leigh-Ann Zimmer everyday too, and I played against Carrie Soults last year. So I can hold my ground.’

Zimmer, the preseason Big East Offensive Player of the Year, is coming off of a season in which she scored 40 goals and 16 assists as a sophomore. She’s Syracuse’s answer to Aumiller.

Zimmer scored two goals last year at Virginia. She said that road win gave the team pride, but nothing breeds confidence like playing on your own turf.

‘We win 80 percent of our games here in the Dome,’ Zimmer said. ‘We’re definitely more confident here.’

But for the Orangewomen to keep that advantage, they will have to play mistake-free, Miller said. While last year’s victory over Virginia was the breakout performance Syracuse was looking for, a win Saturday would cement its status as a top program.

‘I don’t think that the North gets the respect that it should,’ Miller said. ‘Virginia’s a great program. They’ve got all kinds of history and tradition. The win just legitimizes our program.’

Published on February 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm