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No. 12 Cavaliers to face No. 6 Syracuse Saturday at UHall Turf Field
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 12 Virginia women’s lacrosse team hosts No. 6 Syracuse this weekend in a tough nonconference match-up. The contest is scheduled for the University Hall Turf Field and will be the first game in a doubleheader with Virginia’s men’s team. Opening draw for the women’s game is scheduled for noon, with live statistics available on VirginiaSports.com. The game will also be broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA AM 1070.
The Cavaliers enter the game coming off a convincing win over in-state rival Richmond, 17-8, on Wednesday evening. Senior All-American Kaitlin Duff and sophomore Charlie Finnigan led Virginia in the contest with four goals and two assists each.
Five Cavaliers have tallied five goals this season, led by sophomore Josie Owen who also has six assists. Duff, Finnigan, senior Caity Whiteley and sophomore Julie Gardner have also contributed five scores.
Senior Brittany Kalkstein leads Virginia with 15 draw controls. With six draws against Richmond, Kalkstein – UVa’s career record holder in the category – tied Maryland’s Dana Dobbie (2007-08) for the ACC’s all-time career mark. The record currently stands at 205 draw controls.
Syracuse (2-0) enters the contest after winning its first two home games. The Orange defeated Colgate, 17-5, and No. 12 Stanford, 16-7, this season. Tee Ladouceur leads Syracuse with six goals and six assists this season, while Christina Dove has a team-high nine goals to go with a team-high 10 draw controls.
In goal, Liz Hogan has played every minute, allowing just 6.00 goals per game, while stopping .500 percent of shots faced.
In last season’s meeting, the fourth-ranked Cavaliers upset the third-ranked Orange at the Carrier Dome, 14-11. The loss was the first of the season for Syracuse, as former Cavaliers Ashley McCulloch and Jenny Hauser each notched six points to lead Virginia to the road win. Redshirt junior Lauren Benner stopped nine shots in cage for the Cavaliers, while Katie Rowan and Christina Dove led Syracuse with three goals each. Liz Hogan had 13 saves in the contest.
Virginia leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 8-3. The Cavaliers and Orange have met every year since 1999, with Virginia currently holding a five-game win streak in the series. The Cavaliers opened the series by winning the first three contests, before Syracuse won the three-straight to even it at three apiece. Syracuse’s last victory was in 2004, as the Orange escaped Charlottesville with a 14-13 victory.
Virginia is 3-2 against Syracuse in Charlottesville.
Saturday’s contest will wrap up a three-game homestand for the Cavaliers. Virginia will head on the road for its first away contest on Friday, March 5 at Maryland. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.