No. 10 Virginia Heads To No. 16 Princeton For a Saturday Contest

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The 10th-ranked Virginia women’s lacrosse team will travel to Princeton, N.J., to take on the 16th-ranked Tigers on Saturday (March 17) at 5 p.m. Live statistics can be accessed at VirginiaSports.com. A subscription-based video webcast is also available.

Virginia (4-3, 0-2 ACC) is coming off a 10-3 victory at William and Mary on Wednesday (March 14) evening. Freshman Sloan Warren (Philadelphia, Pa.) notched a hat trick with three goals, while senior Josie Owen (Gibson Island, Md.) tallied five assists while directing the UVa attack.

Redshirt freshman Liza Blue (Butler, Md.), who scored two goals against the Tribe, leads the squad with 12 goals, while senior Ainsley Baker (Corning, N.Y.) is right behind her with 11 goals. Owen, meanwhile, has scored 10 goals, while distributing a team-high 20 assists.

In this week’s national rankings, Owen was ranked fourth in the nation in total assists and ninth in the nation in assists per game (2.5).

Defensively, junior goalkeeper Kim Kolarik (Riva, Md.) has started all seven of the Cavaliers’ games and allowed 68 goals for a 9.71 goals-against average. She has collected a team-high 22 ground balls, which ranks her 15th in the nation for ground balls per game (3.5). Kolarik and the Cavalier defense allowed William and Mary to score just three goals – the Tribe’s lowest offensive output since a 2004 meeting with Georgetown.

Draw controls have been key for UVa, as the Cavaliers dominated the category against William and Mary, 12-3. Freshman Daniela Eppler (Baltimore, Md.) has controlled a team-high 18 draws, followed by Owen (17) and Blue (16).

Princeton (2-2, 1-0 Ivy) is ranked No. 16 in the IWLCA coaches poll and is unranked in the deBeer media poll. In their last outing, the Tigers got the best of Ivy opponent Brown, 18-8.

Jaci Gassaway leads Princeton with 15 goals and five assists for 20 points, followed by Erin McMunn with three goals and 10 assists for 13 points. Tiger goalkeeper Annie Woehling has earned all four starts between the pipes and has allowed 33 goals for a 8.34 goals-against average.

In the latest national ranking, Princeton owns the country’s 16th-most stingiest defense, allowing just 8.5 goals per game.

Virginia holds the edge in the all-time series, 16-14. The Cavaliers have won the last two games, including a 10-9 game last season in Charlottesville.

Following Saturday’s game, Virginia returns home to host No. 20 James Madison on Wednesday (March 21). That contest at Klöckner Stadium is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.