Cavaliers Open NCAA Tournament Friday Against Long Island
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia women’s soccer team begins play in the 2011 NCAA Tournament on Friday as it hosts a first round matchup with Long Island. Game time at Klöckner Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
Tickets for the game are $9 for reserved seats, $7 for adult general admission and $5 for youth/student/senior citizen general admission. Fans can order tickets for the tournament online at VirginiaSports.com and by phone through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets are also available at the gate beginning one hour prior to the start of play.
Free public parking will be available in the University Hall lot. The Virginia women’s basketball team hosts Appalachian State at 7 p.m. on Friday, so the John Paul Jones Arena west lot is reserved for women’s basketball permit holders.
Virginia (14-4-2) is the No. 2 seed in the lower-left quadrant of the bracket and is making its 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, its 24th overall appearance. The Cavaliers have reached at least the round of 16 of the tournament in each of the last six years, including a quarterfinal appearance in 2005. This season, Virginia finished second in the ACC with a 7-2-1 record and reached the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers lead the ACC in scoring with 50 goals, led by All-ACC forward Caroline Miller’s (Rockville, Md.) 14 goals and eight goals from ACC Freshman of the Year Morgan Brian (St. Simons Island, Ga.).
Long Island (12-7-1) is making its third NCAA appearance, its first since 2006, after winning the Northeast Conference championship. The Blackbirds enter the game on a nine-game unbeaten streak, posting eight straight wins before a 1-1 tie at St. Francis (Pa.) in the NEC final, where they won the title in penalty kicks.
Friday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the schools. It is the first time Virginia has ever played a school from the NEC. In LIU’s only previous game against an ACC school, they lost 6-0 at Maryland in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
The winner of the game will play the winner of the Kentucky-Washington State game in the second round on Friday, Nov. 18.