They are undefeated (21-0-1), region and district champions and are in the NJCAA Tournament — which begins today and lasts through — Sunday as the overall No. 1 seed.
Additionally, the Lady Cavs are making their first appearance in the national tournament since also being the top seed in 2005 at Phoenix when they finished as national runners-up against Monroe N.Y. (2-1). Only now, they feel like it’s finally their time.
"We saw something (before we left) and it read, ’It’s better to have won the national tournament than to have played in it,’ " recalled sophomore tri-captain Ashlynn Hilton.
Although the Lady Cavaliers are happy to be back in the tournament after having to watch the past two national tournaments — ironically, held at Darton — from their homefield sideline, the quest to take coach Ken Veilands’ program to the only remaining higher level continues.
And that quest could conclude Sunday with a national championship win.
"We’re ready to go," said Veilands, whose team plays Anne Arundel (Md.) at 6:30 p.m. EDT today at Chandler-Gilbert in a rematch of the 2005 first-round nationals match that Darton won, 5-1. "The kids are focused on what’s ahead of them and the opportunity they have. It can be a fun trip, but winning is fun, too. We’ve got to be serious and be focused. We have a vision of what we’re going out there to do."
If Darton wins today, the Lady Cavaliers will meet the Schoolcraft-Chandler-Gilbert winner at 9:30 p.m. EDT Friday. A win Friday would then give Darton a Saturday bye, setting the stage for the championship match at 4:30 p.m. Sunday against which ever teams emerges from the other side of the tournament bracket.
Hilton and fellow captain Zoe Vincent were ball girls in last year’s national tournament, and they are simply glad be on the field this time.
"We were on the sidelines last year" Vincent said. "Now it’s our turn to be out there and bring it home."
Darton’s other captain, Rachael McQuade, was playing for Northern Oklahoma College at this time last year. And although she was not on the sideline as a Darton ball girl at last year’s national tournament, she still realizes the importance of a game-by-game approach this year.
"We just want to get out there and do it first," McQuade said of the task of winning.
Darton’s mantra this season has been the ability to rally from deficits against quality teams. The Lady Cavaliers fell behind against Middle Georgia, No. 8 Young Harris, No. 7 Polk Community College and No. 4 Schoolcraft to remain undefeated.
"We have a lot of heart," Lady Cavaliers goaltender Allison Ryan said. "We want to win."
Darton’s strength not only lies with Ryan, but also forwards Shakira Duncan and Stephanie Daniels. Duncan is second in the country in scoring (36 goals, 26 assists) and Daniels is eighth (33 goals, nine assists). Freshman Jo-Anne Saliba is 26th (20 goals, 11 ass ists).
"We’re excited and ready to play, we’re just trying to keep our heads on straight," Daniels said. "We’re not getting big-headed, we’re keeping our focus. It’s not going to be easy. We’re just going to play our game."
Even if Darton falls behind during the tournament, Duncan said it won’t faze her.
"I don’t really think about it that much," Duncan said. "I think we’re going to win. I know we’re going to win. I’ve said before that we have an awesome group of girls. The heart in these girls is unbelievable. They’re passionate and determined and full of heart."
While Duncan, Daniels and Ryan are among Darton’s driving forces, Anne Arundel (10-6-2) is led by leading scorer Katie Oliver, who has 10 goals.
"I haven’t seen (Darton) play this year, obviously, but they have some quality players," Anne Arundel coach Jim Griffiths said. "Look at their record. When you compare the two records, there’s a reason we’re eighth."
Darton will take the field today for the first time since Nov. 8, and some team members worry about what effect the idle time will have on today’s first match.
"It’s an advantage because we’ve had time to work on some things we had not been so good at, but it’s also a disadvantage because we haven’t been able to go at game speed (since district)," Hilton said.
Veilands looks at it another way.
"I can understand how a (college football) bowl team can feel," Veilands said. "A team could win the SEC Championship and then it’s idle for a month. That’s a tough challenge."
But it’s one — after disappointments before — the Lady Cavs feel they’re finally ready to tackle.
