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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The 10th-ranked Virginia field hockey team (10-3, 1-1 ACC) heads to University Park, Pa., this weekend to face a pair of Big Ten foes in No. 5 Iowa and No. 13 Penn State. The Cavaliers and Hawkeyes (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) will battle at 2 p.m. Saturday before UVa takes on the Nittany Lions (7-4, 1-0 Big Ten) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Virginia is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to top-ranked Maryland Saturday at home and also beat Richmond 7-1 earlier in the week. First-year Paige Selenski led the team with four goals and three assists in the two games and for her efforts was named the womensfieldhockey.com National Rookie of the Week.
The Cavaliers will be without Selenski this week, as the Shavertown, Pa., native is currently competing as member of the U.S. Team in the Junior Pan American Cup in Mexico City, Mexico.
In addition to Selenski, nine other Virginia players have recorded goals this season. Third-year Traci Ragukas and fourth-year Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn have each scored seven goals while Michelle Vittese, Floor Vogels and Lauren Elstein have tallied four apiece. Elstein also leads the team with seven assists on the year.
Iowa has won eight straight games with its only losses of the year coming at Wake Forest (3-2) to open the season and a loss at home to Duke (2-1). Last week, the Hawkeyes recorded an 8-0 win over Missouri State and a 2-0 win over Northwestern at home.
Caitlin McCurdy leads Iowa with 13 goals on the year while teammate Lauren Pfeiffer has tallied 11 goals and leads the team with 84 shots. Tricia Dean paces the Hawkeyes with 10 assists while Lissa Munley has 33 saves and a 1.00 goals against average in the cage.
The Virginia and Iowa programs have several ties. Current Hawkeye assistant coach Meridith Thorpe was a four-time All-American at Virginia from 1995-98 and also coached six seasons at her alma mater. Additionally, Madison served as an assistant at Iowa from 1982-89, helping the team to four semifinal appearances, including the program’s first national title in 1986.
The Cavaliers are 2-1 all-time against Iowa. The last time the two teams met was in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, a 1-0 Virginia win in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Penn State, meanwhile, is on a three-game winning streak after beating Lafayette 3-0 and Lock Haven 3-1 last week. Daneen Zug paces the squad with five goals on the year while Jessica Longstreth and Bethany Marvel have each scored four times. Allison Scola leads Penn State with seven assists and Jen Beaumont has tallied 50 saves and a 1.17 GAA in the cage.
The Nittany Lions hold a 12-3 series advantage over Virginia, who has not registered a win over Penn State since 1997 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lions defeated the Cavaliers in both the first and last game of last season. After winning 3-1 in the season opener, Penn State ended Virginia’s season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 3-2.