Cavaliers Travel West for Sun Devil Desert Classic

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TEMPE, Ariz. — The No. 11 Virginia women’s soccer team travels west this weekend for the Sun Devil Desert Classic, where it will meet a pair of Pac-10 foes. On Friday night, the Cavaliers face Arizona before playing host Arizona State on Sunday.

The Cavaliers (2-1) are coming off a pair of impressive home wins last weekend. Virginia downed Liberty 5-0 on Friday and Hofstra 7-0 on Sunday. ACC Co-Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week Caroline Miller (Rockville, Md.) led Virginia with three goals and four assists in the victories, while Meghan Lenczyk (McLean, Va.) added three goals and an assist and Lauren Alwine (Elizabethtown, Pa.) had two goals and four assists last week. Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) posted shutouts in both games, increasing her career total to 15.

Arizona (0-2-1) is looking for its first victory of the season after home losses to UC Irvine and San Diego and a tie at Northern Arizona. Arizona State (2-1) opened the year with a win over UC irvine before traveling to Tennessee last weekend for a tournament where they topped the Lady Vols in overtime and fell to Kansas.

The trip marks the first time the Cavaliers have played in the state of Arizona. It will be the 20th different state (plus DC) that Virginia has played in.

Virginia is looking to snap a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) in games played west of the Mississippi River. The Cavaliers’ last win on a trip west came in 2000, when Virginia defeated Santa Clara at the Stanford Nike Invitational.

Next weekend, the Cavaliers return home to host the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic. Action begins on Friday, Sept. 11 as part of a tripleheader of soccer at Klöckner Stadium. The day begins when Seton Hall and Dartmouth meet at 3 p.m. in the first game of the tournament. At 6 p.m., the Cavaliers host No. 9 West Virginia. The night cap is the Virginia men’s soccer team’s 2009 home opener against Duke.