No. 8 Cavaliers Welcome No. 3 Tar Heels to Klockner Stadium on Saturday
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 8 Virginia women’s lacrosse team welcomes No. 3 North Carolina to Klöckner Stadium for a 1 p.m. match up on Saturday. The game will mark the fourth-straight nationally ranked opponent for the Cavaliers and will be the season debut for Virginia on its home field. Virginia’s first three games of the season were played at the UHall Turf Field. Live statistics will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia (3-2) scored the first eight goals of its last outing at No. 13 Penn State on Sunday to carry itself to a 13-8 win over the Nittany Lions. Senior All-American Kaitlin Duff led the Cavaliers in the contest, tallying six points on three goals and three assists. In goal, redshirt junior Lauren Benner stopped a season-high eight shots, while picking up her first win of the season.
On the season, Duff leads the Cavaliers with 19 points on 12 goals and seven assists. Sophomore Josie Owen heads the attack with a team-high 10 assists and has added eight goals for 18 points. Senior All-American Brittany Kalkstein has won 32 draw controls, ranking her third nationally.
North Carolina brings an unblemished 6-0 record into its first Atlantic Coast Conference contest of the season. UNC has five Tar Heels who have registered double-digit goals, led by Kristen Taylor’s 17. Taylor leads the team with 21 points, while Corey Donohoe and Becky Lynch have each tallied 20 points. Lynch also has a team-high 24 ground balls, while Kristen Carr has won 15 draw controls.
In goal, Logan Ripley is allowing just 5.65 goals per contest, while stopping 50-percent of shots faced.
North Carolina knotted the all-time series at 11-11 with a 12-8 win over the Cavaliers in a rain soaked contest in Chapel Hill, N.C. last season. With the win, the Tar Heels improved to 5-3 when playing on their home field, while the Cavaliers currently hold a one-game advantage when playing in Charlottesville, 7-6.
Following the contest, the Cavaliers will return to action on Wednesday, heading to No. 18 William & Mary for a 7 p.m. contest.