Field Hockey Announces 2017 Schedule
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June 26, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia field hockey team announced its 2017 schedule, with the Cavaliers slated to play 12 regular-season home games at University Hall Turf Field.
The Cavaliers will face a challenging slate that features nine teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Championship. UVA, the 2016 ACC champions, plays nine of its first 10 games at home, beginning with the regular season opener on Friday, Aug. 25 by hosting Fairfield. Conference contests against Duke (Sept. 8), Boston College (Sept. 22) and North Carolina (Oct. 6) highlight the home schedule. The non-conference schedule includes visits from Penn State (Aug. 27) and Maryland (Oct. 17).
“The most exciting part of the schedule is that we are home for so much of it and get to play in front of our family and friends,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “We start off with two exhibitions against regional foes before we welcome the old and the new. Monmouth, Drexel, Columbia and Pacific are new teams on the docket that had solid 2016 campaigns and will challenge us with different styles and tempo.
“In addition to playing in the nation’s toughest conference, we will also be taking on top Big Ten teams in Penn State, Maryland and Michigan State that provide an opportunity to expose our team to different styles of play. The Big Ten is traditionally a more physical game so we have those spaced out in the beginning, middle and end so the physicality of our game can grow. Games against regional opponents like William & Mary, Richmond and Old Dominion are usually emotionally charged and quite the crowd pleasers.”
The postseason begins Nov. 2 with Louisville hosting the 2017 ACC Tournament. The Cardinals’ Trager Stadium will also be the site for this year’s NCAA Semifinals and Championship game.
Virginia, which has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in three of the last five years, returns a talented core from last year’s conference championship squad including two-time NFHCA National Player of the Year and 2016 ACC Offensive Player of the Year senior midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and redshirt junior goalie Carrera Lucas (Brooklandville, Va.), who has been selected for USA Field Hockey’s U.S. Women’s National Development Squad.
Admission is free for all regular-season field hockey home games.
2017 Virginia Field Hockey Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Aug. 15 | AMERICAN (scrimmage) | 3 p.m. |
| Aug. 19 | @ James Madison (scrimmage) | 1 p.m. |
| Aug. 25 | FAIRFIELD | 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 27 | PENN STATE | 12 p.m. |
| Sept. 1 | COLUMBIA | 1 p.m. |
| Sept. 3 | MONMOUTH | 1 p.m. |
| Sept. 8 | DUKE | 5 p.m. |
| Sept. 10 | vs. Michigan State at ODU | 11 a.m. |
| Sept. 15 | WILLIAM & MARY | 5 p.m. |
| Sept. 17 | RICHMOND | 12 p.m. |
| Sept. 22 | BOSTON COLLEGE | 5 p.m. |
| Sept. 25 | PACIFIC | 2 p.m. |
| Sept. 29 | @ Wake Forest | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 6 | NORTH CAROLINA | 5 p.m. |
| Oct. 8 | DREXEL | 1 p.m. |
| Oct. 14 | @ Syracuse | 1 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 | MARYLAND | 5 p.m. |
| Oct. 21 | @ Louisville | 12 p.m. |
| Oct. 22 | @ Miami (Ohio) | 2 p.m. |
| Oct. 29 | @ Old Dominion | 1 p.m. |
| Nov. 2-5 | ACC Tournament, Louisville, Ky. | ALL DAY |
| Nov. 11-12 | NCAA First/Second Rounds (Location TBD) | ALL DAY |
| Nov. 17 | NCAA Semifinals, Louisville, Ky. | ALL DAY |
| Nov. 19 | NCAA Championship, Louisville, Ky. | ALL DAY |