Avery Shoemaker’s first-half success prompted a change from Princeton’s defense on Saturday.
The junior attacker was faceguarded for the first time in her Virginia career.
“It was kind of awkward,” Shoemaker said. “I kind of forgot what that felt like.”
She had been faceguarded plenty at Penn Charter in Philadelphia while amassing 237 goals and 88 assists in her scholastic career, but hadn’t been given that same respect while hardly seeing the field as a Virginia freshman, nor even during last year’s breakout sophomore year when she was third on the team with 46 points on 34 goals and 12 assists.
“I was denied a few times, but that was my first full-on faceguard,” Shoemaker said. “It was definitely cool.”
Princeton’s strategy worked on Shoemaker individually, but it didn’t stop Virginia from starting the season 3-0 going into today’s game against William and Mary.
After scoring four goals and adding an assist in the first half to stake Virginia to a 7-6 lead, Shoemaker was held without a point in the second half, but her teammates more than picked up the slack while crafting a 7-1 run to help the Cavaliers cruise to a 14-8 win.
“We scored all those goals because of what she did in the second half,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers. “I know she doesn’t get credit for it, but the way they defended her and the way she helped us use that to our team’s advantage, I’d almost give Avery every assist in that second half because she kind of won that chess match. They planned a faceguard and she definitely beat them in chess. She gets a lot of credit for that.”
Shoemaker and Virginia are enjoying fast starts.
Shoemaker is third on the team in scoring behind dynamic midfielders Kasey Behr and Sammy Mueller. All eight of Shoemaker’s goals have come in the first half of games this year.
“It’s definitely fun,” Shoemaker said. “I am pretty active and I get pretty excited, so I think the start of the game, I try to get into it pretty quick – get it in before it’s too late. It helps everyone else in a way because everyone else gets the emotion of it. It’s just fun trying to start off a game high speed and fast.”
Virginia is 3-0 for the first time since 2012.
The Cavaliers have strong returning players at every level, from senior four-year starter Rachel Vander Kolk at goalie to All-American captain Behr in the midfield, along with stellar junior Maggie Jackson, last year’s ACC Freshman of the Year in Mueller and Shoemaker on the attack.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I think they have ‘it,’” Myers said. “Honestly, the last few years, we were very good, but we didn’t have it. It is so hard to describe and understand and to pinpoint, but I do think this group has it. They have that friendship and that love and that passion for Virginia and each other and big dreams for themselves. I do think this team has it and we have really pivotal players at important spots on the field that I think can work their way to great success.”
After being the new starter surrounded by three seniors on offense last year, Shoemaker is now the veteran with three new starting attackers joining her in senior Ana Hagerup, sophomore Nora Bowen and freshman Olivia Schildmeyer.
“I wasn’t used to talking a lot or necessarily having to organize the attack as much,” Shoemaker said. “That’s changed a lot.”
“Getting the three new attackers up to speed with the pace and where to put the ball, it has come along in particular in the last two weeks,” added Myers. “In the preseason, we were scratching our heads and saying, ‘When is this going to happen,’ and, ‘Is this the right group we’re working with?’ The first week of the season and with these three games, I think we have found the right combination for now and they continue to grow. That’s been a bright spot.”
Shoemaker's veteran presence was molded thanks to her family.
Her mom, Alison, played ice hockey at St. Lawrence and had Shoemaker skating before she could run. She played club ice hockey on a boy's team until she was a high school freshman.
By then, lacrosse, the sport in which her father, John, was an All-American at Penn, was taking center stage.
She still found time to try squash, three years of field hockey and then cross country at Penn Charter, and now golfs, plays tennis and skis in her spare time.
After struggling her first year at Virginia, no longer being the star, Shoemaker has grown into the leader of an attack that was once a question mark and now could bolster Virginia’s final four aspirations.
“I want to make sure the attack isn’t just included in it, but is a big powerhouse of the team,” Shoemaker said. “At Princeton, we scored nine of the goals. That made me proud that we were all working hard on the attack and controlling the game more.”