No. 3 Virginia Hosts Oklahoma, No. 25 Pepperdine In Weekend Matches
Sept. 1, 2016
| No. 3 Virginia (4-0-0) vs. Oklahoma (2-1-1)/No. 25 Pepperdine (3-1-0) | |
| Date & Time | Sept. 2 – 5 p.m. | Sept. 4 – 2 p.m. |
| Location | Charlottesville, Va. | Klockner Stadium |
| Multimedia | | |
| Additional Information | Buy Tickets | Twitter | Facebook |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 3 Virginia women’s soccer team (4-0-0) continues its six-game homestand this weekend, hosting Oklahoma and No. 25 Pepperdine in a pair of matches at KlÃÆ’¶ckner Stadium.
The Cavaliers and Sooners face off at 5 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 2) as part of a doubleheader with the Virginia men’s team, while closing the weekend against the No. 25 Waves at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 4).
Fans can follow the action online through GameTracker linked at VirginiaSports.com. Also, fans planning to attend Friday’s match should be aware that the packet pick-up for participants in this year’s UVA Cancer Center Women’s 4-Miler will occur Friday at John Paul Jones Arena between 4-7 p.m. This will created added congestion in the area for fans attending UVA soccer and field hockey events. Please budget some extra time for your arrival if you are attending these events.
The matches mark the fourth and fifth matches in a six-game homestand for the Cavaliers, who opened the season at Liberty before returning home for competition. Virginia has posted four consecutive shutouts to open the 2016 season and has posted seven consecutive shutout matches dating back to the end of the 2015 season. The 692 minutes of scoreless soccer over that span is the second-longest consecutive minutes of shutout soccer in program history. The last goal scored against the Cavaliers came in the NCAA Tournament opener against Howard on Nov. 13, 2015.
Junior forward Veronica Latsko (Venetia, Pa.) leads the Cavalier offense this season, tallying four goals and two assists on the season. She turned in her first career hat trick against Old Dominion in the last match for the Cavaliers and assisted on the fourth goal of the 4-0 victory.
It’s been a balanced offense through the first four games of the season with eight different players scoring goals for the Cavaliers. Eight players have also contributed assists with Virginia notching 10 assists on the 13 goals scored this season.
Defensively, the veteran back line made up of three seniors and senior Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) in goal have set the tone for the Cavaliers. Stearns, combined with senior defenders Meghan Cox (Springfield, Va.), Tina Iordanou (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) and Kristen McNabb (Montville, N.J.) have held the first four opponents scoreless and the last two opponents, Michigan State and Old Dominion, without a shot.
Oklahoma (2-1-1) enters the weekend coming off a win over Oklahoma State and a loss to Utah Valley last weekend. The Sooners are led offensively by Kaylee Dao with two goals this season. Oklahoma has scored six goals as a team while allowing only three goals this season.
Pepperdine (3-1-0) will play at Maryland on Friday night before facing the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. The Waves split last weekend, posting a shutout of Fresno State before falling in a shutout to USC. Rylee Baisden and Nicole Leggio lead Pepperdine with three goals each this season as the Waves have scored nine goals on the year. Defensively, Pepperdine has allowed four goals with three coming in the last outing against USC.