No. 4 Virginia Hosts George Mason In Opener Thursday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 4 Virginia women’s soccer team (0-0) opens the 2022 season on Thursday night (Aug. 18) when the Cavaliers host George Mason (0-0) in a 7 p.m. contest at Klöckner Stadium.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday’s match against George Mason will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com for customers who have the ACC Network as part of their television subscription. Live stats are also available and links to both the live stream and broadcast are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWomenSoccer).
TICKETS AVAILABLE
Fans can purchase single-game tickets in advance online at UVATix.com. Reserved seats purchased in advance are $12 and general admission tickets are $8. UVA athletics strongly encourages fans to avoid lines on game day and purchase their tickets online in advance. Single game tickets will be $15 at the gate on game day for reserved seats if available and $10 for general admission seats. Group packages for parties of 20 or more are $6 and are available for purchase over the phone in advance only.
General admission season tickets are also on sale for $45.
QUICK KICKS
• Virginia enters the 2022 season ranked No. 4 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches.
• It marks the second straight year for Virginia to start the season at No. 4 and the Cavaliers are one of three ACC teams in the top five nationally.
• The Hoos were picked to finish second in the ACC preseason poll behind Duke, but had more first-place votes than the Blue Devils – matching North Carolina with four votes to finish in first.
• Fifth-year forward Alexa Spaanstra and junior midfielder Lia Godfrey were voted to the preseason All-ACC team by the leagues’ coaches for the second consecutive season. It’s the third straight season for Spaanstra to be selected to the preseason team.
• Spaanstra enters the season seventh all-time at Virginia for assists in a career with 29 – including nine on game winning goals which is tied for eighth most in a career at Virginia.
• Godfrey is ranked fifth nationally among active Division I players in assists per game, averaging 0.49 assists per game. She has eight assists on game winning goals tying for 10th in UVA history.
• Virginia will be without the services of junior defenders Samar Guidry and Laney Rouse who are competing for the United States in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
• The Hoos return four All-ACC selections from a year ago with Godfrey, Guidry, Haley Hopkins and Spaanstra having all claimed the honor in the 2021 season.
• Godfrey and Spaanstra also earned All-Region honors along with Talia Staude a year ago, while Godfrey collected All-America honors for the second straight season.
• The Hoos play seven-of-eight non-conference games at home this season as part of an 18 game schedule that features six matches against teams in the preseason top 25.
THE SERIES WITH GEORGE MASON
• Virginia and George Mason have met on the pitch 24 times with the Cavaliers leading the series 13-8-3.
• The squads met last season with the Hoos picking up a 2-0 win on the road at George Mason.
• With last season’s win, Virginia has now won 10 consecutive meetings between the two teams with six straight shutouts.
• George Mason won the first five meetings in the series that started in the 1985 season with the Hoos first winning in 1989.
• Virginia has outscored the Patriots 24-5 over the course of the current 10-game winning streak.