No. 8 Virginia Plays Saturday at No. 9 Penn State

Story Links

Feb. 27, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 8 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (1-2, 0-1 ACC) takes on its second top-10 opponent this week, playing at No. 9 Penn State (3-0) on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. at the indoor field at Holuba Hall.

The Cavaliers and Nittany Lions have played one another in the regular season every year since 1983. UVa owns a 19-16 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, No. 9 Virginia defeated No. 8 Penn State 12-11 in Charlottesville.

Penn State is coming off a 16-0 victory over Duquesne on Tuesday, the first shutout for the Nittany Lions since 1989. Penn State has outscored its opponents 48-9 this season. Steph Lazo leads the Nittany Lions with 10 goals on 13 shots. Maggie McCormich has 11 points on five goals and six assists.

On Monday, the Cavaliers fell 14-13 at No. 3 Syracuse, the second time this season that the team fell short by a single goal while playing a top-five opponent. The Cavaliers fell 6-5 in the season-opener against No. 5 Northwestern.

Junior attacker Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) contributed a career-high six points, scoring four goals with two assists. Seniors Liza Blue (Butler, Md.) and Casey Bocklet (South Salem, N.Y.) also each had a hat trick.

Blue and Bocklet are tied for the team lead in goals (6) and points (10). Senior Courtney Swan (Vero Beach, Fla.) paces the team in assists (5) and draw controls (9).

Senior Courtney Swan (Vero Beach, Fla.) won two draw controls at Syracuse, giving her 196 in her career, ranking her in second place in program history. Brittany Kalkstein (2007-10) owns the Cavalier career record with 287 draws.

Blue, with hat tricks in each of the last two games, is two goals shy of reaching the 100-goal milestone in her career.

Freshman Kasey Behr (Northport, N.Y.) has scored a goal in each of her first two collegiate games.

On Thursday night, Bocklet, Swan and senior defender Morgan Stephens (Olney, Md.) were named to the 50-player Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are made up of premier collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. Players not named to the initial list have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. Watch lists additions, if applicable, will be announced on March 19 and April 9. On April 23, the field will be narrowed to 25 men’s and 25 women’s nominees. Nominees can be players on the watch lists or players not on the watch lists, effectively allowing for a third round of additions. Five men’s and five women’s finalists will be announced on May 7 and invited to the ceremony. The Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2015, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Virginia plays five of its first six games on the road and faces four top-10 teams in the first six games, all on the road.

Virginia returns to Charlottesville for the home opener against Harvard on Tuesday, March 3 at 4 p.m. before playing at No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.

Single-game reserved seats are available for all women’s home games for $7. Single-game general admission adult tickets for women’s home games are $5, while youth (18 and under), seniors (60 and over), and UVa faculty and staff tickets are $4 each.