Cavaliers Named #2 Seed in NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament

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May 9, 2004

Virginia women’s lacrosse players were able to add a special treat to their Mothers’ Day calls home tonight as they informed families that they would be the #2 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers open the tournament with a home game on Thursday, May 13 against Mount St. Mary’s. Game time is slated for 4:00 pm.

The Cavaliers’ bid to the NCAA tournament is their 19th post-season bid and their ninth consecutive, continuing a streak since 1996. Virginia, who won the title in 1991 and 1993, has advanced to the final game in four of the last eight years, including 2003 where the Cavaliers fell to Princeton 8-7 in extra time. Virginia owns an 18-18 record overall in the national championship, including 18-14 in NCAA tournament history.

The Cavaliers are led offensively by Amy Appelt, the 2004 ACC Player of the Year who leads the nation with 75 goals. Appelt’s 75 goals are a school record and also a Commonwealth of Virginia record. Her 99 points ranks second in the nation and she ranks second all-time at Virginia with 256 points, just 64 points shy of the all-time record. She has notched a hat trick in 16 of Virginia’s 18 games this year, starting with the first 13 games of the season. Appelt has 24 assists this season, a career high for her as well and she ranks tied for third all-time with 70 career assists. She has scored a goal in every game of her collegiate career, a span of 59 consecutive games.

Virginia’s defense is a tough unit that is allowing just over three 8-meter attempts per game and is committing an ACC-best less than 13 fouls per game. Nikki Lieb, Ashley Dodson, and goalkeeper Andrea Pfeiffer have all been recognized as the National Player of the Week for their contributions to Virginia’s defense, which is giving up less than nine goals a game against the nation’s second-toughest schedule. Pfeiffer ranks among the nation’s top-20 in both goals-against average and save percentage and earlier this year made her 500th career save, and she now ranks second all-time at Virginia in career saves.

The entire NCAA Division I bracket is below:

Thursday, May 13 - Game Times to be Determined

#1 Princeton vs Colgate#2 Virginia vs Mount St. Mary’s#3 Maryland vs Temple#4 Loyola vs VanderbiltJames Madison vs Johns HopkinsDuke vs GeorgetownNorthwestern vs Notre DameDartmouth vs New Hampshire

Sunday, May 16Princeton/ Colgate winner vs Dartmouth/ New Hampshire winnerVirginia/Mount St. Mary’s winner vs Northwestern/Notre Dame winnerMaryland/ Temple winner vs Duke/Georgetown winnerLoyola/Vanderbilt winner vs James Madison/Johns Hopkins winner

Semifinals:Friday, May 21 at Princetonadvancers from the following brackets will matchup:Princeton bracket vs Loyola bracketVirginia bracket vs Maryland bracket