Quick Turnaround for Cavaliers, Face No. 2 Syracuse Friday
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The No. 4 Virginia women’s lacrosse team faces a quick turnaround, as the Cavaliers head to the Carrier Dome to face their first ranked opponent this season in No. 2 Syracuse at 4 p.m. on Friday. Live stats for the contest can be found on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia (3-0) is coming off a midweek win over in-state rival Richmond, 16-7, on Wednesday. Senior All-American Blair Weymouth led the attack with five goals, while the national player of the week, Ashley McCulloch, tallied three goals and three assists. Starting things strong for the Cavaliers, junior Brittany Kalkstein won a game-high six draw controls to help set up the offense, while redshirt sophomore Lauren Benner held the defense in check, stopping a career-high 12 shots in goal.
Syracuse, entering the contest with a 3-0 record as well, hasn’t played a contest since concluding a two-game road swing on the west coast, defeating Stanford, 15-10, and California, 18-2. Katie Rowan and Halley Quillinan lead the Orange with 12 goals each this season, while Christina Dove and Rowan have each dished out four assists.
For the Cavaliers, McCulloch leads the way with 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists, while Weymouth has tallied 12 goals and four assists. Junior Kaitlin Duff has six goals and five assists, while leading the team with nine ground balls and nine caused turnovers. Kalkstein has won a team-high 10 draw controls.
In goal, redshirt sophomore Lauren Benner is allowing a league-best 6.08 goals per game, while stopping .595 percent of shots faced.
Dating back to 1999, Virginia and Syracuse have faced every year, with the Cavaliers holding an all-time 7-3 record against the Orange. In last year’s meeting, Weymouth led the Cavaliers to a 13-8 victory in Klckner Stadium, scoring five goals in what was her season-debut. Kalkstein had four goals and McCulloch added four assists. Rowan tallied three scores for the Orange.
The last time Syracuse won in the series was in 2004, when the Orange edged Virginia, 13-14, in Charlottesville. When playing in the Carrier Dome, the Cavaliers are 4-1. Their only loss came in overtime in 2003. Virginia has won the last two contests in Syracuse.
Up next, the Cavaliers return home for a two-game homestand. Virginia will play host to No. 6 Maryland on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m., before a non-conference tilt with Penn State at noon on Sunday, March 8.