No. 6 Virginia Opens 2023 Season Friday Against No. 5 Penn State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 6 Virginia field hockey team (0-0, 0-0 ACC) opens the 2023 season by hosting No. 5 Penn State (0-0. 0-0 Big Ten) on Friday, August 25 at 6 p.m at Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va.

Admission is free for all regular-season home games at Turf Field.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• The match will stream online on ACCNX through the ESPN app. It is available through participating TV providers that carry ACCN
• Live stats will be available
• Links are posted on VirginiaSports.com 

NOTING THE CAVALIERS

• Virginia is picked to finish second in the ACC, receiving three of seven first-place votes
• The Cavaliers are No. 6 in the NFHCA Preseason Poll. UVA has been ranked in the top-10 since the 2022 Week I poll
• Virginia was 13-8 last season, advancing to the ACC Championship match and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship field
• Head coach Michele Madison is beginning her 18th season at Virginia and 35th overall as a head coach. She comes into the year ranked third among active DI coaches in total victories with 444
• Virginia has made 13 NCAA tournament appearances under Madison, with three trips to the Final Four. Her teams have made the tournament in six of the last seven seasons, only missing it during the 2020-21 COVID-19 Pandemic season
• The Cavaliers have made the ACC Championship game each of the last two years. Virginia will be hosting the ACC Championship Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at Turf Field
• Virginia and Penn State have played one another on opening weekend in an alternating home-and-home series every year since 2009 except the COVID-19 2020-21 season
• The Cavaliers open the season with three straight games against top-15 opponents
• 12 of Virginia’s 16 regular-season opponents are ranked in the preseason top-20, with three opponents in the top five
• The Cavaliers return five of their top six goal-scorers from last season
• Striker Laura Janssen returns as a grad student. She led the team last year with 12 goals. The two-time All-Region honoree has 33 career goals and 71 career points in her four seasons with the Cavaliers
• Midfielder Adele Iacobucci is also back for her fifth year. The four-year starter was named to the All-ACC Second Team last year and is a three-time All-Region First Team honoree. She has started 76 of 83 games over the last four years
• Midfielder Daniela Mendez-Trendler looks to build on her stellar freshman season. She was a first-team All-ACC honoree and a third-team All-American. She ranked second on the team in goals (8) and points (19) last season

NOTING PENN STATE

• The Nittany Lions are No. 5 in the preseason poll. The team went 17-4 last season and was the Big Ten Regular-Season Co-Champions. The team advanced to the NCAA Semifinals
• This will be the head coaching debut of Lisa Bervinchak Love. This is her 30th season at Penn State after serving as the associate head coach to recently-retired Char Morett-Curtiss
• The squad returns Sophia Gladieux, last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year, who had 23 goals and three assists
• Penn State won last year’s season-opener against UVA 3-2 and leads the all-time series 21-8

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia hosts No. 14 Liberty at Turf Field on Tuesday, August 29 at 5 p.m.