No. 1 Virginia Heads to Cary for ACC Women's Soccer Tournament
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| No. 1 Virginia (20-0) vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech (15-3-2) | |
| Date & Time | Nov. 8 | 5:30 p.m. |
| Location | Cary, N.C. | WakeMed Soccer Park |
| Coverage | ESPN3 | Live Stats |
| ACC Tournament Info | Championship Homepage | Bracket |
| Additional Information | Buy Tickets | Twitter | Facebook | Game Notes |
Nov. 7, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The top-ranked Virginia women’s soccer team travels to Cary, N.C., this week for the 2013 ACC Tournament, held at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Cavaliers take on fifth-ranked Virginia Tech in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m., in a game broadcast online by ESPN3.
All four of the ACC semifinalists are currently ranked in the top five of the Soccer America rankings, with No. 3 Florida State facing No. 4 North Carolina in the second semifinal at 8 p.m. The winners will meet in Sunday’s final, which is slated for 4 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.
The Cavaliers (20-0, 13-0 ACC) are the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament after becoming the first team in seven years to post a perfect league record. Virginia is looking to be the first top-seed to win the ACC Tournament since North Carolina in 2008. The defending ACC Champion, the Cavaliers aim to be the first team to win consecutive titles since the Tar Heels in 2008 and 2009.
Virginia is in its eighth week as the nation’s consensus No. 1 team and is the first team to post a perfect regular season record since Stanford in 2009. The Cavaliers lead the nation in scoring at 3.25 goals per game this season. Junior midfielder Morgan Brian (St. Simons Island, Ga.) leads the ACC in scoring with 37 points and assists with 13, in addition to posting 12 goals. She is one of three Cavaliers to post double-digit goals this season, with sophomore forwards Makenzy Doniak (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Brittany Ratcliffe (Williamstown, N.J.) having 14 and 11 goals, respectively. Virginia’s defense leads the ACC with a 0.50 goals against average and has posted shutouts in eight of the last 10 games.
The Cavaliers are coming off a 6-1 victory over Maryland Sunday in an ACC quarterfinal at Klöckner Stadium. After falling behind 1-0 in the first five minutes, Virginia responded with six unanswered goals, led by Brian’s two-goal, one-assist performance.
Virginia Tech is 15-3-2 this season and finished fourth in the ACC during the regular season. The Hokies advanced to the ACC semifinals with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Notre Dame Sunday in Blacksburg.
Virginia leads the all-time series, 17-2-1, including a 2-0 victory last week in the regular season meeting between the schools in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers have won the last five meetings in the series by a combined score of 18-0. The teams have met twice in the ACC Tournament in Cary. In 2004, Virginia posted an 8-0 quarterfinal win over the Hokies during their inaugural season in the conference. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in the 2008 semifinals, with Virginia Tech advancing to the final in a penalty kick shootout.
The winner of the tournament will receive the ACC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field of 64 will be announced on Monday and first round action will begin on Friday, Nov. 15.