No. 9 Virginia Plays at No. 1 Northwestern on Sunday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 9 Virginia field hockey team (3-1, 0-0 ACC) travels to take on No. 1 Northwestern (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. local time) at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• The match will stream online on B1G+ (subscription required)
• Live stats be available for both games
• Links are posted on VirginiaSports.com

NOTING THE CAVALIERS

• The Cavaliers only have one game this weekend, taking on the reigning NCAA Champions Northwestern
• This is the 50th season of Virginia field hockey. Field hockey was one of three women’s sports to begin at UVA in 1973-74 along with basketball and tennis
• The Cavaliers moved up to No. 9 in the first NFHCA Coaches Poll of the regular season from a No. 12 ranking in the preseason pill
• Senior striker Laura Janssen has scored four goals in the first four games of the season. Her 1.00 goals-per-game average ranks third in the ACC and is tied for 12^th in the nation
• Janssen’s 2.00 points-per-game average is fifth in the ACC
• Virginia has had six different players score goals this season and six different players assist on goals
• Sophomore striker Noa Boterman is the only other player with two goals this season. She scored the game-winner in the 1-0 victory against Temple last Friday and scored the game-tying goal in the fourth quarter against JMU to force overtime
• Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Kennedy has a 1.49 goals-against average and an 0.714 save percentage. She logged a career-high eight saves in the season-opener against Penn State
• This is the Cavaliers’ second of three matches against Big Ten opponents. They opened the season at Penn State and close the regular season at Maryland (Oct. 26)

NOTING NORTHWESTERN

• The Wildcats will host No. 11 Liberty on Friday in a rematch of last year’s NCAA final. Northwestern won the program’s first NCAA title with a 2-0 victory against Liberty
• Friday’s match is the home opener for the Wildcats
• Northwestern played two ACC schools last weekend, picking up a 2-0 win against Duke and a 6-0 victory against Boston College. Both matches were played at BC’s field in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
• Goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the week after posting the back-to-back shutouts
• Fifth-year Bente Baekers leads the nation in goals (eight) and points (17)
• Virginia holds an 8-3 edge in the all-time series. This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2013

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia opens conference play by traveling to No. 20 Boston College on Friday, Sept. 16. The match begins at 4 p.m.
• The Cavaliers return home to host No. 12 Saint Joseph’s on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. That match will be televised on the ACC Network