Cavaliers Play Host to No. 2 North Carolina Saturday

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia field hockey team (6-9, 0-2 ACC) returns home to the University Hall Turf Field to play host to second-ranked North Carolina at 1 p.m. Saturday. Live stats will be available on VirginiaSports.com.

With several events in the area also taking place Saturday, please see the attached map for important parking information. Fans are able to park in the Cage lot adjacent to the field and at University Hall free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis.

Virginia went 1-2 on its three-game road trip last week after defeating UC Davis 8-1 but falling at Princeton and to No. 4 UConn by scores of 2-1.

Sophomore Elly Buckley leads the Virginia offense with a team-best 11 goals and seven assists for 29 points. Junior Britt Knouse and sophomore Carissa Vittese have each added six goals apiece. Sophomore Hadley Bell and freshman Rachel Sumfest have contributed four goals each. In the cage, freshman Jenny Johnstone won the starting job; she has 51 saves in over 925 minutes this season.

No. 2 UNC is 13-1 on the year (3-0 ACC) and has won eight straight since dropping its only loss of the season to top-ranked Old Dominion, 3-1. The Tar Heels played host to Boston College (W, 2-1) and Appalachian State (W, 12-0) last weekend.

Junior Kelsey Kolojejchick paces North Carolina with 15 goals, including five game-winners. Teammates Samantha Travers and Jaclyn Gaudioso Radvany have each scored nine goals while Katie Ardrey has a team-best eight assists.

In the cage, both freshman Sassi Ammer and sophomore Caitlin Powers have seen time; Ammer (nine starts) boasts a 0.33 goals-against average and a .864 save percentage.

North Carolina leads the all-time series with Virginia, 46-16. Last season, the Tar Heels ended Virginia’s NCAA run with a 4-3 overtime win in the national semifinals. UNC also took the regular season meeting, 3-2, in Chapel Hill.