No. 8 Virginia Field Hockey Heads to Boston College/Boston U. for Final Regular-Season Games

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Oct. 23, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 8 Virginia field hockey team (12-5, 4-1 ACC) plays its final regular-season games of the year, playing at No. 14 Boston College (11-5, 2-3 ACC) on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. and at Boston University (8-7, 3-1 Patriot) on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 12 p.m.

Links for live streaming video for Sunday’s game as well as live stats for both contests are posted on VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers, with a 4-1 mark in ACC games, come into the game with a one-game lead in the conference standings over North Carolina (3-2) and Wake Forest (3-2). No matter the outcome of Friday’s conference game against BC, the Cavaliers will finish with at least a tie for first place in the conference. If Virginia wins on Friday, the Cavaliers will finish with sole possession of the ACC regular-season title and will earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. If the Cavaliers lose at BC, they can still earn the No. 1 seed and the lone first-round bye in the Tournament if North Carolina defeats Wake Forest in a 1 p.m. game on Saturday (Oct. 25). If Wake Forest defeats UNC, Virginia will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will have to play a first-round game.

The complete tournament bracket will be released Saturday (Oct. 25) evening. Virginia has twice won the ACC regular season title, accomplishing the feat in 1997 and 1998. Though regular-season titles are tracked, the official ACC champion and the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament is the winner of the ACC Tournament.

The Cavaliers fell from No. 6 to No. 8 in this week’s NFHCA Coaches’ Poll after falling 1-0 to No. 19 Old Dominion on Sunday. After putting together a nine-game win streak that was capped by its Oct. 3 upset victory at No. 1 North Carolina, Virginia has gone 2-3 in its last five games, with all five of those contests being decided by one-goal margins.

Freshman midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) played a role in all three of Virginia’s goals in last Friday’s come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory over Liberty. Vittese scored two goals, including converting her fifth penalty stroke of the season, and assisted on the other, adding another five points to her conference-leading totals. Vittese now has 46 points, 16 more than Lieke Visser of Syracuse, who ranks second in the ACC with 30 points. Vittese is averaging 2.71 points per game, the third-highest total in the nation. Paula Heuser of Albany currently leads the NCAA at 3.00 points per game. Vittese also ranks seventh nationally with 0.94 assists per game and 12th with 0.88 goals per game.

Sophomore midfielder Lucy Hymas (Whitstable, England), who missed three games recovering from an injury, returned to action against Liberty, scoring one goal and assisting on another against the Flames. Hyams has nine goals this season, eclipsing last year’s total of five. The 2013 ACC Freshman of the Year also already has more points this season (23) than she did in her rookie campaign (21).

Senior goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone (Paisley, Scotland) comes into the weekend with 331 career saves, the sixth-most in program history. Johnstone has saved 73.0 percent of the shots she has faced this season, with that ratio improving to 76.9 percent in ACC contests. Johnstone is also tied among conference keepers by averaging 6.00 saves per ACC game.

Boston College comes into Friday’s game riding a three-game win streak which includes a 2-1 overtime victory at Louisville last Friday. BC is 2-3 in ACC games this season with all five of those contests being determined in overtime. Overall, the Eagles have played in eight overtime games this year with a 4-4 mark in those contests, including defeating UConn in a shootout.

Eryn McCoy and Emma Pasteras are tied for the lead on the Eagles with 21 points apiece. McCoy tallied seven points over the weekend to lead Boston College to a 2-0 record with wins over No. 7 Louisville and California. McCoy scored both of the Eagles’ goals in the 2-1 victory over the Cardinals, including the game-winning score in overtime in a one-on-one situation with the Louisville goalkeeper. Emily McCoy paces the squad with nine goals. Goalkeeper Leah Settipane has a 1.67 goals-against average and is saving 75.9 percent of the shots she faces. Virginia holds a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series, including winning 1-0 in double overtime last season in Charlottesville.

Boston University, which was ranked as high as No. 20 in the NFHCA poll this season, will play at American in Washington, D.C., on Friday night before hosting the Cavaliers on Sunday. The Terriers have won four of their last six games, with their two losses in that span coming in overtime, including dropping a 2-1 decision at UMass last Sunday (Oct. 19).

Valentina Cerda Eimbcke is the reigning Patriot League goalkeeper of the week, the fifth time in her career she has won the honor, but her first this season. Cerda Eimbcke made three saves in a 4-0 shutout of Holy Cross on Friday and five saves in the 2-1 overtime loss at Massachusetts on Sunday, allowing just two goals in 144:50 of play in the two games. Cerda Eimbcke has 31 saves while allowing just five goals in the last six games for the Terriers.

Amanda Cassera leads BU with 19 points, scoring a team-best eight goals with three assists. Three players, including Hester van der Lann, Taylor Blood and Sofi Laurito, have each contributed 11 points.

Boston University holds a 4-2 advantage in the series record, but Virginia won the last meeting, 2-0, in 2012.

The Cavaliers have a bye week next week to prepare for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which is being held at Duke University’s Jack Katz Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Thursday, Nov. 6, Friday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 9.