Cavaliers Set To Open NCAA Tournament Play Sunday At Duke

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – After earning an at-large berth to the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the 10th-ranked Virginia women’s lacrosse team will travel to seventh-seeded and sixth-ranked Duke for a first-round game on Sunday (May 13) at 2 p.m. The Cavaliers (11-7) are unseeded and face the Blue Devils (11-6) for a second time this year, having won the regular-season match-up in Durham, 14-12, on March 24.

Live statistics are available at VirginiaSports.com and the game will be streamed live at NCAA.com.

Virginia is led offensively by senior attacker Josie Owen (Gibson Island, Md.), the Cavaliers’ leader in goals (41), assists (35), points (76) and draw controls (42). Owen ranks second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 24th in the nation in points per game (4.22).

Freshman attacker Sloan Warren (Philadelphia, Pa.) is second on the team with 26 goals and 38 points, followed by senior attacker Ainsley Baker (Corning, N.Y.) with 24 goals and sophomore Katie Slater (Kensington, Md.) with 23 goals.

Junior goalkeeper Kim Kolarik (Riva, Md.) is allowing 10.07 goals per game and has a save percentage of .404. She is the team leader in ground balls (40).

Freshman defender Kelsey Gahan (Towson, Md.) has caused 15 turnovers, a team-high.

Duke fell to Maryland in the ACC semifinals before defeating Pennsylvania in its regular-season finale. Kerrin Maurer leads the team with 24 goals and 24 assists for 48 points. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 6 in the coaches poll and No. 7 by the media.

The at-large berth marks the 17th-consecutive year that Virginia has participated in the NCAA Tournament (23rd overall). The Cavaliers have an all-time record of 29-21 in the postseason and have won NCAA Championships in 1991, 1993 and 2004.

Under head coach Julie Myers, the Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in all 17 years of her tenure. Her squads hold an overall record of 22-15 in the tournament and won the 2004 NCAA title.

The Cavaliers and Blue Devils have faced each other four times in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2009. Duke won that match-up in overtime in Durham, 15-13, while the Cavaliers won NCAA Tournament contests in 1999, 2005 and 2007.

The winner of this weekend’s contest will advance to the quarterfinal round to face the winner of Notre Dame vs. No. 2 seed Northwestern. The semifinals and final of this year’s NCAA Tournament are scheduled for May 25 and 27 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y.