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Cavaliers Earn Fifth Seed in ACC Field Hockey Championships
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Oct. 31, 2006
The Virginia field hockey team earned the fifth seed in the upcoming ACC Field Hockey Championships, and will face fourth-seeded Boston College in the ACC Quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 1:00 at Henry Field at UNC. The Cavaliers, ranked tenth nationally in RPI , posted a 1-5 ledger in the ACC that included a win over UNC, who currently sit 13th nationally in RPI. Virginia and Boston College played earlier this season in Newton, Mass, where the Eagles defeated UVa 1-0.
Virginia have posted a 12-6 record against the nation’s fourth-toughest schedule that includes a win over Indiana, who earned the second seed in the 2006 Big Ten Championships. The Cavaliers also have registered wins over Richmond, the top seed and host of the Atlantic 10 Championships; Ohio, the top seed and the host of the MAC Championships, and James Madison, the number two seed in the CAA Championships.
Both the Cavaliers and the Eagles boast nationally-ranked offenses and defenses, according to the NCAA who is sponsoring the national statistics for the first time in history. UVa ranks 25th nationally in scoring offense at 2.57 goals per game, while BC comes in 16th at 2.97 goals per game. Both teams allow just under two goals per game, with UVa 30th nationally (1.85) and BC 26th (1.69).
The Cavaliers are led by one of the top two-way players in the conference, Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn, and one of the top rookies in the nation in Traci Ragukas. Ragukas, who has scored a goal in 13 of Virginia’s 18 games, ranks 18th nationally in goals per game–and ranks second among all first-years nationally in points and goals.
Top-ranked and top-seeded Maryland and second-seeded Wake Forest earned byes into the semifinals, while Duke faces host UNC in the other quarterfinal on Thursday. The quarterfinal and semifinal games of the ACC field hockey tournament will be webcast on www.ACCSelect.com, while live stats for all games will be available on the league’s official web site at www.TheACC.com.
Sunday’s championship game will be televised Sunday, November 5, and broadcast on a tape-delayed basis at 5:30 p.m. ET on FSN South, FSN Florida, Comcast SportsNet, and New England Sports Network (NESN).