No. 1 Seed Virginia Kicks Off NCAA Tournament Play Friday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 2 ranked Virginia women’s soccer team (16-2-2) opens play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday (Nov. 12) when the Cavaliers host High Point (10-7-2) in an opening-round match at Klöckner Stadium. Kick is set for 6 p.m.
Virginia enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the region and one of four No. 1 seeds in the tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday night’s match will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at ESPN.com. Live stats are also available and links to the streams and live stats are at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWomenSoccer).
PARKING INFORMATION
Due to men’s basketball hosting Radford at JPJ at 7 p.m. Friday evening, free parking for the women’s soccer match will be available at the Emmet/Ivy Parking Garage. With coinciding events in the area, fans should plan accordingly for navigating game day traffic.
QUICK KICKS
• Virginia enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed for the second time in three seasons.
• The Cavaliers advanced to the College Cup this past spring marking the program’s fourth semifinal appearance.
• Virginia had a pair of players named CoSIDA Academic All-District Thursday in Lia Godfrey and Lizzy Sieracki.
• The Hoos are led offensively by a trifecta up top in Diana Ordoñez, Haley Hopkins and Alexa Spaanstra.
• All three forwards have at least 20 points with Ordoñez leading the way with 33 (15G, 3A).
• Ordoñez is fifth nationally in goals (15) and fifth in active D1 players in points per game (1.63).
• Both Hopkins and Spaanstra have eight assists which ties them for second on the team in the category.
• Lia Godfrey leads UVA with 12 assists and is fifth among active D1 players with 0.51 assists per game.
• Godfrey’s 12 assists ranks her ninth nationally in total assists entering the first-round matchup.
• Laurel Ivory enters the tournament with 41 career shutouts, tied for first among active D1 players.
HOOS HAVE BEEN A MAINSTAY IN THE POSTSEASON WITH A STRETCH OF DEEP NCAA RUNS
• The Hoos have been a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament with 34 appearances overall and 28 straight berths.
• The 34th appearances is second all-time, while the 28 straight appearances is the second longest active streak.
• Only North Carolina has more appearances (39) having made every single tournament in NCAA history.
• Virginia had an active streak of 14 consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16 until last the 2019 loss to eventual College Cup participant Washington State in the second round.
• The Cavaliers have advanced to at least the Sweet 16 in 15 of the last 16 NCAA Tournaments.
• Virginia has made seven appearances in the quarterfinals under head coach Steve Swanson – making it in 2001, 2005, 2011 2013, 2014. 2015 and 2020.
• The Hoos advanced to the College Cup in 2013, 2014 and the 2020 season – making a finals appearance in 2014.
• UVA also advanced to the quarterfinals in 1991 when Virginia went on to make its first semifinal appearance.
• The Hoos have four overall appearance in a semifinal match and three under head coach Steve Swanson.
A DEEPER LOOK AT VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Virginia holds a 47-28-8 record in matches played in the NCAA Tournament all-time
• That record is impressive in the Swanson era with a 44-17-7 mark under his leadership
• The Cavaliers have out-scored foes 173-to-89 in NCAA Tournament matches
• That score margin is more pronounced under Swanson coming in at 160-to-64 all-time
THE SERIES WITH HIGH POINT
• Virginia and High Point have faced once before – a matchup in the 2014 NCAA Tournament opener
• The Cavaliers took that meeting 8-0 behind a five-assist performance from Morgan Brian
• Morgan Reuther also added three goals in that victory for her first career hat trick
• That match started a run to the NCAA final for the Cavaliers – the first in program history