No. 6 Virginia Travels To No. 3 Maryland and No. 19 Penn State For Weekend Games

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia women’s lacrosse team, ranked sixth in both the coaches and media polls this week, looks to remain unbeaten when it travels to No. 3 Maryland on Friday (March 2) and No. 19 Penn State on Sunday (March 4). Friday night’s game begins at 7 p.m., while Sunday’s match-up is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Live statistics for both contests will be available at VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia is 3-0 on the season after victories over then-No. 7 Loyola, Richmond and then-No. 12 Syracuse. The Cavaliers will look to open the season with a 4-0 record for the first time since 2009.

Redshirt freshman Liza Blue (Butler, Md.) and senior Ainsley Baker (Corning, N.Y.) have each scored seven goals to lead UVa offensively, while senior Josie Owen (Gibson Island, Md.) is the team’s points leader with four goals and eight assists. Virginia is out-scoring its opponents, 35-25, so far this season.

Defensively, goalkeeper Kim Kolarik (Riva, Md.) was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 10 saves in UVa’s win over Syracuse. On the year, Kolarik is saving 54 percent of the shots she faces and has an 8.33 goals-against average.

No. 3 Maryland is 3-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play after falling to Duke, 10-9, on Feb. 25. Katie Schwarzmann has scored 13 goals for the Terps while Brooke Griffin has added 11. Three different goalkeepers, Brittany Dipper, Kasey Howard and Abbey Clipp, have seen time in goal with Dipper earning four starts and allowing 19 goals.

Penn State is 3-1 on the year and ranked No. 19 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll. Mackenzie Cyr leads the Nittany Lions’ offense with eight goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Dana Cahill has earned all four starts and is allowing 8.79 goals per game.

Virginia trails the all-time series with Maryland, 17-35, including a 4-14 mark in College Park. The Terrapins have won five-consecutive games in the series that dates back to 1978. Last season in Charlottesville, Maryland won by a score of 18-6. Baker and fellow senior Julie Gardner (Severna Park, Md.) each scored two goals in that game.

Against Penn State, Virginia holds an 18-14 advantage in the series and won last year’s meeting in Charlottesville by a score of 10-5.

Following the weekend road games, Virginia returns home to face No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday (March 10) and 1 p.m.