CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 20 Virginia field hockey team (7-8, 2-4 ACC) plays its final regular-season game of the 2018 season against William & Mary (8-6, 4-1 CAA) on Friday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m., at Busch Field in Williamsburg, Va. PLEASE NOTE THE TIME CHANGE. The start time of this contest was moved up from its previously-announced 6 p.m. start due to inclement weather in the forecast.
There will not be live streaming of the game, but fans can keep up with the action through live stats through a link posted on VirginiaSports.com.
The Cavaliers come into the week on the heels of a pair of wins over top-15 teams last week. Last Friday (Oct. 19), the Cavaliers topped No. 14 Wake Forest, 2-1, and downed No. 2 Maryland, 3-1, on Sunday (Oct. 21).
Virginia moved up to No. 20 in this week’s Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches’ Poll and is No. 14 in the latest NCAA Field Hockey RPI. The Cavaliers, who have played 11 games this season against teams ranked in the top-25 including seven against top-10 teams, have the third highest strength of schedule.
Senior goalkeeper Carrera Lucas (Brooklandville, Md.) was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week as well as the co-Longstreth/NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts in last week’s victories. Lucas notched 10 saves last week, including eight against the Terps. She is currently fourth in the nation with a .794 save percentage.
Freshman Greer Gill (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored a pair of goals against Maryland, including the game winner, to earn the first ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors of her career. Gill is now tied for the team lead in goals scored this year with four. Freshman Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) continues to lead the team with 13 points.
Freshman Amber Ezechiels (Niew-Vennep, Netherlands) scored a goal with two assists in last week’s games, and was recognized by Synapse Sports as the National Rookie of the Week. Ezechiels is third on the team in points, behind Wallis and Gill, with eight.
Freshman Annie McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.) scored her first career goal, the game-winner against Wake Forest. McDonough becomes the sixth of the freshmen to score a goal this season. The first-years have scored a combined 15 goals this season. All but five of Virginia’s goals this season have either been scored or assisted by a freshman.
William & Mary has split each of its last two weekend series. Two weeks ago in California, the Tribe topped Pacific, 5-0 before falling in a shootout at Stanford. Last week, the squad prevailed 2-1 over Drexel in overtime before being topped by conference-foe Delaware, 4-2. Estelle Hughes leads the team with 21 points on eight goals with five assists. Woodard Hooper has also tallied eight goals this season.
Virginia leads the all-time series, 30-15-2, and has won the last four meetings, including a 7-2 victory last season in Charlottesville when the Tribe were ranked No. 18. William & Mary’s last win over UVA came in 2013 in a 2-1 game in Charlottesville.
The postseason begins at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, being held Nov. 1-4 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Virginia, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, begins play on Thursday, Nov. 1, taking on 4-seed Boston College at 11 a.m. All games in the tournament will be televised on Regional Sports Networks.
Virginia Concludes Regular Season at William & Mary
The No. 20 Virginia field hockey team plays its final regular-season game on Friday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. at William & Mary.