Seventh-Ranked Cavaliers Head to Boston for Back-to-Back Contests

Story Links

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 7 Virginia women’s lacrosse team will head to Boston this weekend for games at No. 19 Boston College and Harvard. The Cavaliers will face the Eagles on Saturday and the Crimson on Sunday. Both games are slated for noon, with live statistics available at VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia (6-4, 0-3 ACC) opened the week with a 9-5 win at in-state rival Old Dominion on Wednesday. Freshman Dana Boyle led the Cavaliers in the contest with a personal-best three goals, while junior Julie Gardner had a game-high four points on one goal and three assists.

Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Kim Kolarik earned seven saves, while junior Bailey Fogarty had three draw controls and four caused turnovers.

This season, Gardner leads Virginia with 37 points on 20 goals and 17 assists, while junior Charlie Finnigan has a team-best 27 goals. Junior Josie Owen has 22 goals and 11 assists, while redshirt junior Ainsley Baker has 20 goals. Freshman Maddy Keeshan and sophomore Annie Thomas round out the Cavaliers in double-figure scoring. Keeshan has 12 points on five goals and seven assists, while Thomas has 10 goals.

For the defense, three Cavaliers are ranked in the top five of the ACC in ground balls per game. Kolarik leads the league with 2.40 per contest, while Fogarty and senior All-American Liz Downs are ranked tied for fourth with 2.10 per game. In addition, Fogarty leads the league in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.80 per outing.

Boston College (7-4, 0-3 ACC) is currently on a three-game losing streak and, along with Virginia, is looking for its first conference win of the year. After opening the season with six-straight wins, the Eagles dropped a 12-11 contest at Virginia Tech (March 12) and are looking to get back on track after dropping four of their last five games.

Seven Eagles have notched double-digit points for Boston College, led by Kristin Igoe’s 41 points on 30 goals and 11 assists. Brittany Wilton has 32 points (24g, 8a) for the Eagles, while Moira Barry has 31 (25g, 6a). Jill Amo leads the team in assists, dishing out 12.

Defensively, goalkeeper Sheila Serafino is ranked 25th in the nation with a goals-against average of 9.52. Igoe leads the team with 19 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers, while Wilton leads the nation in draw controls per game, averaging 6.40.

In the all-time series with Boston College, Virginia holds an unblemished 9-0 record. In last year’s meeting, the Cavaliers defeated the Eagles, 12-6, at Klöckner Stadium.

Harvard (3-3) will face New Hampshire Friday night before taking on the Cavaliers Sunday. The Crimson are led this year by Danielle Tetreault and Jenn Vandermeulen, who have each notched 17 goals. Tetreault has tacked on a team-high three assists to lead the squad with 20 points.

In goal, Kerry Clark has played all 360 minutes and has posted a 10.83 goals-against average, while saving .356 percent of shots faced.

The Cavaliers and Crimson have only met three times on the lacrosse field, with Virginia winning every contest. The Cavaliers earned a 14-9 decision over Harvard at home last year and a 13-9 road win in 2009. Prior to that, Virginia defeated Harvard in overtime, 11-10, in the semifinals of the 1993 NCAA Tournament, en route to the national title.

Following the weekend, Virginia will return home to host its final ACC foe, Virginia Tech, Wednesday, April 6 at 7 p.m.