Virginia Plays Host to Marquette in NCAA Sweet 16 Match

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Nov. 30, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team plays Marquette at 1 p.m. Sunday in a third-round NCAA tournament match at Klöckner Stadium. The eighth-seeded Cavaliers (11-5-5) won their NCAA opener last Sunday against St. John’s, 2-0, while ninth-seeded Marquette (13-5-2) downed Akron in overtime, 1-0.

The winner of the Virginia-Marquette match will face the winner of the UCLA-Connecticut game next weekend. The site of that match will be determined Sunday following the completion of all matches.

Tickets
Tickets are $9 for reserved seats, $7 for adult general admission and $5 for youth/student/senior citizen general admission. Fans can order tickets online at VirginiaSports.com and by phone through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets are also available at the Klöckner Stadium box office beginning at noon. Gates will open at noon.

Parking
Parking is $5 and will be available in the John Paul Jones Arena, University Hall and McCue Center lots. Free parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage.

Broadcast Information
A live video broadcast will be available via the Cavaliers Live subscription on VirginiaSports.com.

Live statistics (GameTracker) can be found on VirginiaSports.com, as well the new Virginia Sports app, which is available free of charge through iTunes.

Virginia-Marquette Series
Virginia and Marquette have met just once previously, a 2-0 Virginia win on Oct. 3, 1981, in a neutral-site game at the University of Akron Tournament. UVa and Marquette share two common opponents, Providence and St. John’s, also from the BIG EAST.

The Cavaliers defeated St. John’s twice, including last Sunday in the NCAA tournament, and beat Providence 4-0 at home on Sept. 24. Marquette defeated Providence twice and played St. John’s to a scoreless draw.

Virginia Extends Streak in NCAA Soccer Championship
Virginia is playing in its 33nd-consecutive NCAA tournament, dating to 1981 – the longest active streak in Division I soccer. UVa has played host to at least one game in the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons and in 34 of the program’s 35 years in the NCAA field. This marks the 18th time the Cavaliers have hosted multiple matches in one season in an NCAA tournament.

The Cavaliers are seeded for the first time since 2009, when they were No. 2. Virginia has an all-time record of 54-28-4 in the NCAA tournament, including 42-18-2 at home.

Virginia vs. 2013 NCAA Field
The Cavaliers have played a tough schedule in 2013, with 10 of UVa’s 17 foes reaching the NCAA tournament. UVa was 7-5-2 against those teams.

All three of Virginia’s foes in the ACC tournament are seeded and still alive in the NCAA field (No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 5 Maryland, No. 14 Wake Forest). The ACC and Pac-12 each boast four teams left in the field.

Defense Steps Up
After getting burned for 10 goals in its first six matches, Virginia has settled in defensively over the last 15 contests. The Cavaliers have allowed 11 goals in the last 15 games, but six have come in two games (3-3 draws vs. Maryland and Notre Dame) and two were own goals.

In that 16-game span, UVa has recorded eight shutouts. In all, the Cavaliers have racked up an ACC-best 10 shutouts in 2013.

Noting Marquette
Champions of the BIG EAST Conference, Marquette advanced to the third round on freshman Coco Navarro’s golden goal in the 100th minute last Sunday as the Golden Eagles won 1-0 in overtime over Akron. It marked the Marquette program’s first-ever NCAA tournament victory.

C. Nortey has scored nearly a third of the team’s goals, with nine this year. Marquette has recorded 30 goals this year, while conceding only 17.

Cavaliers Look to Keep It Up
Virginia is 10-2-5 in its last 17 matches since starting the season 1-3. Virginia has scored 37 goals in that span, an average of 2.18 per game.