Cavalier Women's Soccer Hosts Virginia Tech Thursday
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Game #15
Virginia Tech (5-6-2, 1-4-1) at #14 Virginia (8-4-2, 3-2-1)
October 12, 2006
6 p.m.
Klockner Stadium
Charlottesville, Va.
Gametracker
TODAY’S GAME
Virginia returns home Thursday to host Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers are coming off a 1-0 win at Clemson on Sunday, which snapped their three-game winless streak. The Hokies are coming off a 2-1 loss to NC State Sunday in Blacksburg.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Virginia enters the game with a 8-4-2 record, 3-2-1 in the ACC, following the win at Clemson on Sunday. Jess Rostedt and Sarah Curtis lead the Cavaliers in scoring with five goals and two assists for 12 points each. Christina de Vries has a 0.51 goals against average, while posting six shutouts in net this season.
ABOUT THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech enters the game with a 5-6-2 record on the season, 1-4-1 in the ACC, following the loss to the Wolfpack on Sunday. The Hokies are led in scoring by Laurie Beth Puglisi, who has seven goals and four assists for 18 points. Mallory Soldner has a 1.56 goals against average in net for Virginia Tech and has posted three shutouts this year.
VIRGINIA-VIRGINIA TECH SERIES
Thursday’s game is the 11th all-time meeting between the teams with Virginia having won each of the previous meetings in the series. The Cavaliers have won all six previous meetings in Charlottesville. Last season, the Cavaliers downed the Hokies 4-0 in Blacksburg.
COMMONWEALTH CHALLENGE
Thursday’s game will be worth one point in the Commonwealth Challenge presented by Comcast, the all-sports competition between Virginia and Virginia Tech. The schools enter the game tied in this year’s competition 0.5-0.5, after teams split the season series in volleyball. Last year, the Cavaliers won the inaugural competition 14.5-7.5 last year.
AGAINST THE STATE
Thursday’s game against Virginia Tech is the third of three games for the Cavaliers this season against intrastate opponents. After the wins against Liberty and VCU earlier this season, Virginia has an all-time 80-21-10 record against intrastate opponents. Under Steve Swanson, the Cavaliers have been even more dominant against in-state opponents, going 30-1-2. The Cavaliers have won their last 13 against intrastate rivals, outscoring them 55-0 in those games.
SWANSON GOES FOR MILESTONE 200th WIN THURSDAY
In his 17th season as a head coach, Steve Swanson looks for 200th career win Thursday as the Cavaliers take on Virginia Tech. He enters the game with a 199-99-25 career record, leading Dartmouth and Stanford before coming to Charlottesville. With the Cavaliers’ next win, Swanson would become the 25th Division I women’s soccer coach in NCAA history to reach the 200 win plateau. In his seventh season leading the Cavaliers, he enters the game with a 96-35-14 record at Virginia. With four more wins, he would join Lauren Gregg as the only coaches in the program’s history with 100 victories. Gregg had a 133-58-15 record from 1986-1995.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Of the 24 goals scored by the Cavaliers this season, the team has nine different goal scorers. Among those nine players, seven have found the back of the net multiple times. In addition, Virginia has 12 players record a point this season, all of whom have at least two points.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Cavaliers are on pace to break the school defensive records set during the 2004 season. That year the team set school records for goals against average (0.58) and fewest goals allowed (13). This season, Virginia has allowed seven goals and has a 0.48 goals against average through 14 games. In 2004, Virginia had allowed eight goals through the first 14 games of the season.
