'Hoos to Face Longwood, Wake Forest on Road

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The Virginia field hockey team will take a brief respite from the ACC schedule with a game at in-state rival Longwood on Wednesday before traveling to Winston-Salem to take on the No. 3/4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday in a return to the conference slate. The No. 15/19 Cavaliers (8-7) have faced the fifth-toughest schedule in the nation and have defeated one top-10 team this season with a 3-1 victory over No. 8/9 James Madison.

The Cavaliers have a 13-2-1 record against the Lancers in a series that started in 1975 that coincided with the arrival of the legendary Linda Southworth to the Charlottesville campus. Virginia defeated the Lancers 2-1 in the opening game of the series that saw these two powerhouses compete consistently for the Region II berth to the national championships. The two met 12 times in the first eight years of the series (1975-1982) before taking a 20-year hiatus. The two resumed playing in 2003 and have played each year since; the Cavaliers have won the last eight games.

Virginia and Wake Forest first met in 1987 when the field hockey team competed in the Deep South Conference. Since then the Demon Deacons have transitioned into the ACC, and the two teams have faced each other 27 times with the Cavaliers holding a 15-12 advantage in the series. The two last met in the 2007 NCAA Championships; Wake Forest used a goal in the final minute of play to break a 2-2 tie and advance to the NCAA semifinals.

The Cavaliers will travel to Farmville, Va. on Wednesday, October 17 to face the Lancers at 6 p.m. before taking on the Demon Deacons on Saturday, October 20 at 1 p.m. in Winston-Salem, N.C.