No. 5 UVA and No. 6 Georgetown Meet on Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (11-4) and the Georgetown Hoyas (13-2) meet on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Hofstra’s James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. Faceoff is set for noon. UVA is ranked No. 5 in this week’s USILA coaches poll and Inside Lacrosse media poll. Georgetown is No. 6 in both polls.
UVA, an at-large selection, is the No. 4 national seed. The Cavaliers advanced with a 13-11 win over Bryant in the first round. Georgetown earned the AQ as champions of the Big East Conference and is the No. 5 national seed, advancing to the quarterfinal round with an 18-8 win over Syracuse in the first round.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com. The game will be televised live on ESPNU. Chris Cotter will call the play-by-play, while Paul Carcaterra will provide analysis. ESPN2 will also simulcast the broadcast on the WatchESPN app, or by logging onto ESPN.com/watch. There will be a live radio broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA 1070 AM and 98.9 FM. Luke Neer will provide the play-by-play and Doug Tarring will add analysis.
CAVALIER TIDBITS
• UVA is No. 14 in the nation in caused turnovers per game (8.80), No. 1 in the nation in opponent clearing percentage (.782) and No. 1 in the nation in ground balls per game (42.93)
• FO Petey LaSalla is No. 9 in the nation with 7.47 ground balls per game and No. 12 in faceoff winning percentage with a 62.6 percent success rate.
• Payton Cormier leads UVA with 39 goals in 15 games. He had 12 goals in UVA’s six games in 2020. Cormier also has at least two goals in 15 of his 21 career games. Cormier is No. 10 in the nation with 39 goals.
• Connor Shellenberger leads the nation’s freshmen with 60 points, which ranks No. 12 in the country overall. Shellenberger is also No. 9 in the nation with 35 assists.
• Kyle Kology is No. 13 in the nation with 20 caused turnovers.
UVA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• UVA is 53-33 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• UVA is 23-8 all-time in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
• UVA is making its 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth as the No. 4 seed.
• UVA is 5-4 all-time as the tournament’s No. 4 seed, including reaching Championship Weekend in 2005.
• UVA is 2-0 against Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament, including beating the Hoyas in the 2003 and 2006 quarterfinals on the way to NCAA titles.
• Virginia is 5-4 against teams in the 2021 NCAA Tournament field.
SERIES INFO
• Despite the relative proximity of the two schools, Saturday is only the fifth time UVA and Georgetown have met (although they have scrimmaged in the preseason over the years.)
• UVA leads the all-time series 4-0.
• The last meeting was an 8-7 win for the Cavaliers in Washington, D.C., in 2016. It was the last win of UVA Hall of Fame head coach Dom Starsia’s college career.
GEORGETOWN
• Kevin Warne is in his ninth season at Georgetown. The Hoyas are making their third NCAA Tournament appearance under Warne and their first in the quarterfinal round.
• Jake Carraway leads Georgetown with 51 goals and 67 points, while TJ Haley has a team-best 49 assists and is second on the team with 54 points. Graham Bundy Jr. has 36 goals and 48 points, while Nicky Petkevich rounds out the top scorers with 41 points on 19 goals and 22 assists.
• Owen McElroy is saving 60.2 percent of shots between the pipes and posting a 7.97 goals against average.
UP NEXT
With a win, UVA will advance to Championship Weekend in Hartford, Conn., against the winner of Saturday’s game between North Carolina (No. 1 seed) and Rutgers. The semifinal matchup will be played at either noon or 2:30 p.m. at Rentschler Field. The semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN2.