Cavaliers Visit Top Ranked UCLA in NCAA Round of 16

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CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Virginia women’s soccer travels west for the third round of the NCAA Tournament to meet No. 1 UCLA Friday night. It is the second time in three years the Cavaliers and Bruins have met in the NCAA Tournament at Drake Stadium the day after Thanksgiving.

The Cavaliers (13-3-6) are coming off a pair of home wins to open the tournament. In the opening round, Virginia scored four second half goals in a 4-1 win over Loyola (Md.). On Sunday, Nikki Krzysik’s (Clifton, Va.) header with 14 seconds remaining gave Virginia a 1-0 win in the second round over intrastate rival William & Mary.

The Bruins (18-1-2) are the consensus No. 1 team in the nation and are riding a 15-game winning streak. UCLA opened NCAA play with a 3-0 win over Cal State Fullerton and a 4-0 win over Oklahoma State.

The teams are meeting for the fifth time with UCLA holding a 2-1-1 edge in the series. In the only previous NCAA Tournament matchup, the Bruins defeated Virginia 5-0 in a quarterfinal game in 2005 in Westwood.

The game is slated for 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) and the winner will advance to play the Portland/Tennessee winner in the quarterfinals the following weekend.