Fourth-Ranked Virginia Welcomes Longwood Wednesday

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The fourth-ranked Virginia field hockey team (9-1, 1-1 ACC) looks to rebound from its first loss of the year when it welcomes in-state rival Longwood (3-9) on Wednesday. The contest will start at 6 p.m. at the University Hall Turf Field and live stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers came up short in the fourth minute of overtime against the top-ranked Terps last Friday when Maryland senior Katie O’Donnell tipped in the game-winner. It was the fourth overtime game in the last five meetings between the two teams.

Junior Paige Selenski scored UVa’s lone goal on Friday and brought her season total to a team-high 15. She currently ranks first in the conference and second in the nation in total goals. Freshman Elly Buckley has seven goals and six assists of her own, while sophomore Tara Puffenberger and junior Michelle Vittese compliment the offensive attack with five and four scores, respectively.

The Cavalier defense is held down by Kastuk, who holds an ACC-best .837 save percentage in 570 minutes in the cage.

Longwood recently snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over Appalachian State. The losing slide included a 5-0 loss to ACC foe and then-No. 2 North Carolina. The Lancers are led offensively by senior Lauren van de Kamp (five goals and five assists) and freshmanStacy de Grandhomme (six goals and two assists). Sophomore goalkeeper Kaye Goulding has a .600 save percentage and 3.03 goals against average with 694 minutes spent in the cage.

The Cavaliers hold a 16-2-1 all-time advantage over the Lancers. The last meeting between the teams came last season when Virginia dropped Longwood 7-0, as then-sophomore Selenski recorded her second career hat trick. Virginia has won 11 consecutive games against Longwood, with the last Lancer victory dating back to 1980.