No. 5 Virginia Hosts No. 17 Virginia Tech In Commonwealth Clash

Sept. 15, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cavalier women’s soccer team returns home to open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday (Sept. 16) when No. 5 Virginia (7-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) hosts No. 17 Virginia Tech (8-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) at 7 p.m. in the latest iteration of the Commonwealth Clash.

Tickets remain for the match and fans can order tickets online at VirginiaSports.com/Tickets to avoid lines at KlÃÆ’¶ckner Stadium. Fans who can’t attend the match can follow the action live through GameTracker or watch the live stream as part of the ACC Network Extra broadcast. Both are linked at VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers enter the contest coming off a 3-2 loss at No. 20 Georgetown over the weekend as a team scored on Virginia for the first time this season. The Cavaliers posted seven consecutive shutout victories to open the season and set the program record for consecutive shutout minutes while senior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) set the school record for consecutive shutout minutes by a goalkeeper.

Stearns, combined with a veteran back line comprised of seniors Meghan Cox (Springfield, Va.), Tina Iordanou (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) and Kristen McNabb (Montville, N.J.), and junior Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) have held opponents to only three goals this season and 31 shots through the eight matches.

Offensively, the Cavaliers have scored 25 goals through the eight matches to average three per game. Junior forward Veronica Latsko (Venetia, Pa.) leads the way with six goals, while senior midfielder Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) is second with four goals. In all, 11 different players have scored for Virginia while 11 players have notched assists.

Virginia Tech is coming off a 1-0 victory over Longwood on Tuesday night and is led offensively by Alani Johnson and Murielle Tiernan with five goals each. The Hokies have scored 20 goals on the season for an average of two per game. Defensively, Virginia Tech has allowed only five goals and has posted five shutouts this season.

Friday night’s match is sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. It is also a potential point in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, the point rivalry series between University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. This is the first event for the 2016-17 athletic season.

The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 22 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.

Virginia won the 2015-16 Commonwealth Clash 14-to-7, while the Cavaliers claimed the inaugural Commonwealth Clash 15-to-7 in the 2014-15 academic year.