Women's Soccer Opens ACC Season Saturday Night

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Sept. 27, 2002

The 16th ranked Cavaliers open the ACC season tonight as they host Clemson. The Cavaliers are on a four game win streak, their longest since October 2001 after Wednesday’s 8-1 win over Temple. The Tigers dropped their ACC opener last weekend, falling 4-3 in overtime at Florida State. Clemson enters the game ranked No. 24 in the Soccer America poll.

Cavalier-Tiger Series: Tonight is the 12th all-time meeting between the schools with Clemson holding a 8-3-0 edge in the series. Tigers are currently on a five game winning streak against Virginia, including a 4-0 win at Clemson last season.

Home to Start, For a Change: Tonight the Cavaliers start the ACC season, and for the first time since 1994, their conference opener is at home. Overall, the Cavaliers are 8-6-1 in ACC openers, including a 5-2 mark over the past seven years. Tonight marks only the second time Virginia has opened the conference season against Clemson, topping the Tigers 2-1 in Clemson in 1995.

Offensive Explodes vs. Temple: The Cavaliers’ eight goals vs. Temple Wednesday was the most by a Virginia team since a 8-1 win over UMBC in 1995. The attack was well-balanced as Virginia had six different goal scorers, nine players record a point, and ten players had a shot.

Gillian is Elite: In recognition of her strong performance at the William & Mary Nike Tribe Invitational, defender Gillian Hatch was named to Soccer Buzz’s Elite Team of the Week for Sept. 23. The honor was the first of Hatch’s career and the first for the Cavaliers this season.

Firepower off the Bench: The Cavaliers’ offense has gotten a spark off the bench this season. Leading scorers Alyssa Benitez and Noelle Keselica have made only start between them this season and 14 of the Cavaliers’ 26 goals this season have been scored by substitutes.