/
.
No. 7 Virginia Travels To Virginia Tech For ACC Contest
Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia women’s lacrosse team will travel to Virginia Tech on Saturday (April 7) for an Atlantic Coast Conference match-up. The contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., and live statistics can be accessed at VirginiaSports.com, as well as a link to a subscription-based webcast.
Virginia (9-4, 2-2 ACC) could secure a third-place finish in the conference standings with a victory against the Hokies. The Cavaliers have matched their win total (nine) from the 2011 season with three regular-season contests (at Virginia Tech, at Johns Hopkins and at Northwestern) left on the schedule.
Virginia is ranked No. 7 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 9 in the deBeer media poll.
Josie Owen (Gibson Island, Md.), a senior attacker, continues to lead the team in points (57), goals (28) and assists (29) and ranks second on the squad in draw controls (29) and tied for second in ground balls (18). Recently singled out as one of the 10 players in the race for National Player of the Year by Inside Lacrosse, Owen matched a career-high with six goals in UVa’s last outing, a 12-6 win over Harvard on Monday (April 2) night.
In national statistics as of April 1, Owen ranks eighth in the country in points, 13th in assists per game (2.42) and 21st in points per game (4.25).
Owen is two goals away from 100 for her career. Midfielder Julie Gardner (Severna Park, Md.) is approaching that milestone as well, and enters Saturday’s game with 94 goals.
Freshman Sloan Warren (Philadelphia, Pa.) is second on the team with 30 points on 21 goals and nine assists. On the Cavaliers’ current five-game win streak, Warren has earned the starting nod on attack.
Defensively, junior goalkeeper Kim Kolarik (Riva, Md.) has started each of UVa’s 13 games and is allowing 9.91 goals per game while making 80 saves. In league statistics as of April 3, Kolarik ranks second in the conference in ground balls per game (2.46) and third in saves per game (6.15).
Freshman Daniela Eppler (Baltimore, Md.) leads the team in draw controls (30), while fellow freshman defender Kelsey Gahan (Towson, Md.) has caused a team-high 11 turnovers.
Virginia Tech (7-5, 0-3 ACC) is coming off a 15-4 loss at North Carolina but had won three-consecutive contests prior to that game. On their home field this season, the Hokies have posted a 5-2 record.
The Hokies are led by Jessica Nonn’s 32 points on 22 goals and 10 assists. Goalkeeper Alex Gale has made all 12 starts and is allowing 10.92 goals per game.
Virginia has an unblemished 17-0 all-time record against Virginia Tech, including an 8-0 record at Thompson Field in Blacksburg. Last season in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers came away with a 12-10 victory.
Following Saturday’s game, UVa continues its road swing with a Wednesday (April 11) contest at Johns Hopkins. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised by ESPNU.