Virginia Faces Michigan in NCAA First Round
Story Links
| NCAA Field Hockey Championship Virginia Cavaliers (15-7) vs. Michigan Wolverines (12-7) |
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| Date and Time | Saturday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m. |
| Location | University Park, Pa. | Penn State Field Hockey Complex |
| Media | Live Streaming Video | |
| Additional Information | Parking Map | NCAA Tournament Bracket | Game Notes (.pdf) | 2016 Season Stats | 2016 Fact Book (.pdf) |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
Nov. 11, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 7 Virginia field hockey team (15-7) begins the 2016 NCAA Field Hockey Championship by taking on No. 10 Michigan (12-7) in a first-round game being held on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex in University Park, Pa.
The NCAA Championship games will be streamed live online and live stats will be available through GameTracker. Links to both are posted on VirginiaSports.com.
Host-team Penn State (17-2), the No. 4 seed in the tournament, will take on Princeton (10-7) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The winners of the two contests will meet in a quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
Virginia is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the ninth in head coach Michele Madison‘s 11 seasons at UVA. The Cavaliers have made four trips to the NCAA semifinals, most recently in back-to-back appearances in 2009 and 2010, but have never advanced to the National Championship game. Last year, UVA hosted first and second round games, downing Delaware in overtime in the first round but falling 2-1 to Duke in overtime in the quarterfinals.
The Cavaliers are riding a four-game win streak, including winning the ACC Championship for the first time in program history, downing No. 5 North Carolina, 4-2, in the final. Senior Caleigh Foust (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) was named the Tournament MVP after scoring three goals, including two game winners. Junior Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.), the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, had two goals and three assists, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team. Senior Lucy Hyams (Whitstable, England), who also earned All-Tournament honors, lead the team with eight points on two goals and four assists. Her assist in the Wake victory was the 100th point in her Cavalier career. Seven Cavaliers scored at least one goal, including freshmen Anzel Viljoen (Matamata, New Zealand) and Colleen Norair (Fredericksburg, Va.), who both scored the first goal of their collegiate careers in the tournament. The Cavaliers scored 13 goals, the most ever by a single team in the championship. Head coach Michele Madison has now won an A-10, Big Ten and an ACC Championship as a head coach.
Coming into the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers have the highest-ranked strength of schedule in the nation. Michigan is the only team in the top-10 that Virginia has not played yet this season.
Virginia stayed at No. 7 in this week’s Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll while the Wolverines stayed at No. 10. Penn State, which defeated Maryland to win the Big Ten Championship, is No. 5 and Princeton, an at-large selection into the NCAA field, is No. 14.
Virginia is 3-2 all-time against Michigan, but has lost the last two meetings. This is the first meeting between the two since 2002. Penn State leads the all-time series 16-8, including a 3-0 victory during this season’s opening weekend. Virginia leads the all-time series against Princeton, 7-5, including blanking the Tigers 2-0 this season in Charlottesville.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth and students with a valid school ID. Parking is available free of charge in the Yellow lots at Wagner and Shields Buildings ( above) – however – all field hockey vehicles in these lots must vacate by 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Parking is also available free of charge in the Stadium West parking lot. Please enter off of Park Avenue at the Stadium West traffic light. Be sure to let the attendant know you are there for Field Hockey to avoid the Event Parking Fee (Sunday only). The Yellow-H South parking lot at Pegula and the two Orange-F lots closest to the Field Hockey Field/Tennis Center are reserved for the men’s ice hockey game at 7:00 p.m. and are not available for field hockey games (Saturday only). PARKING MAP
First- and second-round games will be played on four campus sites November 12-13 with Duke, Maryland and Syracuse serving as the other three hosts. Old Dominion University will host the semifinals and final Friday, November 18, and Sunday, November 20, at ODU — LR Hill Complex in Norfolk, Virginia. The semifinals and finals will be streamed live on NCAA.com. For ticket information, please call 866-296-MTIX or visit NCAA.com/tickets.