No. 8 Virginia Hosts Second-Ranked UNC on Saturday Afternoon

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – No. 8 Virginia will look to end a two-game slide when it hosts No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday (March 10) in an Atlantic Coast Conference women’s lacrosse match-up. The contest will begin at 1 p.m., at Klöckner Stadium, and will be webcast live by Cavaliers Live, Virginia’s live audio and video streaming offering. Live statistics can be accessed at VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia (3-2, 0-1 ACC) dropped two spots in the IWLCA Coaches Poll after losses to then-No. 3 Maryland and then-No. 19 Penn State last weekend. The Cavaliers had opened the season with victories over then-No. 7 Loyola, Richmond and then-No. 12 Syracuse.

North Carolina (7-0, 0-0 ACC) is ranked No. 2 in both polls and most recently dispatched Lehigh by a score of 16-8 (March 6). This will be the first ACC game of the Tar Heels’ season.

Virginia holds a slim 15-12 advantage in the all-time series, but the Tar Heels have won four-straight vs. the Cavaliers. The teams last met in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C., and UNC won by a score of 15-7.

Virginia is led offensively by senior attacker Josie Owen (Gibson Island, Md.), who has scored nine goals and added 13 assists. Owen’s 13 assists rank her second (total) and eighth (2.6 per game) in the nation. Redshirt freshman Liza Blue (Butler, Md.) has added nine goals and two assists, while senior Ainsley Baker (Corning, N.Y.) has contributed eight goals.

Blue leads the team in draw controls (15), while freshman Daniela Eppler (Baltimore, Md.) has contributed 14 draw controls and six ground balls in five starts.

Kim Kolarik (Riva, Md.) has started all five games in goal for Virginia and has allowed 51 goals for a 10.20 goals-against average. The junior has tallied a team-high 20 ground balls and caused a team-high five turnovers.

The Tar Heels are out-scoring their opponents, 112-48. Laura Zimmerman has 21 goals and eight assists while Becky Lynch has added 14 goals and 13 assists. Abbey Friend leads the team in goals with 24.

Three goalkeepers have seen time for UNC, with Lauren Maksym earning the most minutes (317:41). She has allowed 37 goals (6.99 goals-against average). She has been the goalkeeper of record in all seven of the Tar Heels’ contests with a 7-0 record.

Following Saturday’s game, UVa heads to in-state foe William & Mary on Wednesday (March 14) for a 7:30 p.m. contest.