No. 3 Cavaliers Return to ACC Play at No. 1 North Carolina

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia field hockey team (11-1, 1-1 ACC) returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 1 p.m. game Saturday at top-ranked North Carolina. Live stats and a live webcast will be linked on VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers had the week off and last played then-No. 3 Princeton, a 2-1 victory at home last Friday. Virginia returned to third in the national rankings this week behind the No. 1 Tar Heels and No. 2 Maryland.

Junior Paige Selenski continues to pace the UVa offense, and the league, with an ACC-best 16 goals on the year. Teammates Elly Buckley and Tara Puffenberger have each contributed seven goals while Buckley also leads the squad with seven assists. Senior goalkeeper Kim Kastuk posts a conference-best .852 save percentage and is second with a 1.14 goals against average.

North Carolina, at 14-0 (3-0 ACC), is the only remaining unbeaten team in the country. The Tar Heels, defending NCAA champions, have been the top-ranked team for five of the six weeks. Last weekend, UNC defeated Boston College 3-0 and Connecticut 3-1.

North Carolina’s Kelsey Kolojejchick leads the offense with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points, a mark that ranks fourth in the conference. Teammates Caitlin Van Sickle and Jaclyn Radvany add nine and eight goals, respectively. In the cage, Jackie Kintzer paces the league with a 0.57 goals against average and is second behind Kastuk with a .769 save percentage.

North Carolina leads the all-time series with UVa, 43-16. The teams met three times last year, including twice during postseason play. UNC captured the regular season meeting in overtime, 2-1, in Charlottesville. Then in the ACC semifinals, the Cavaliers came out on top, 1-0. That game is marks the last loss for the Tar Heels, who edged Virginia 3-2 in the NCAA semifinals en route to the national title.