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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The 13th-ranked Virginia field hockey team (11-6, 1-2 ACC) closes the home portion of its schedule at 1 p.m. Saturday against second-ranked Wake Forest (14-2, 1-2 ACC) at the University Hall Turf Field. The game will be broadcasted live on ACC Select and can be viewed online at www.accselect.com.
The game will be the final one at home for four Virginia seniors: Amy Desjadon, Liz Hiltz, Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn and Lucy Meyers.
“Our seniors will put the team on their shoulders,” Virginia head coach Michele Madison said. “That is why they are seniors and that is what seniors do. Big players make big plays in big games.”
The Cavaliers are looking to rebound from a 3-0 loss last weekend at North Carolina. The three-goal setback was the largest margin of defeat for UVa this season.
“The ACC is tough and there is a reason why it is the premiere conference,” Madison continued. “Only the strong survive and we have to pick ourselves up and be ready to head into battle again.”
First-year Paige Selesnki continues to lead Virginia in scoring with 15 goals and seven assists for a team-best 37 points, a mark that ties for the fourth-highest among conference players. Traci Ragukas is second on the squad with 10 goals while Pien Hulsebosch leads the Cavaliers in assists with eight on the season.
Three different goalies have seen time in the cage for Madison this year. Desjadon, who has made 11 starts and played in all 17 games, has a 1.03 goals against average to go along with 35 saves.
Wake Forest is coming off a 1-0 victory over Cal in its final home game last weekend, thanks to a score from Michelle Kasold in the 16th minute. The Demon Deacons’ only losses of the year were to conference foes, a 4-2 defeat to Maryland on the road and a 4-3 loss at home to North Carolina.
Hilary Moore paces Wake Forest with 10 goals on the year while Aileen Davis has scored nine and Kasold and Raisa Schiller have each added seven scores. Kasold and teammate Minou Gimbrere rank 1-2 in the conference in assists, with 21 and 18, respectively. In the cage, Crystal Duffield has a 1.69 goals-against average and 59 saves on the season.