No. 2 Virginia Concludes Nonconference Slate at No. 16 Harvard

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 2 Virginia (8-1) rounds out nonconference action on the road against No. 16 Harvard (6-2)  Saturday afternoon (March 30) at Jordan Field. Opening faceoff is set for noon on ESPN+ and will be broadcast regionally on New England Sports Network. Saturday’s matchup against the Crimson marks UVA’s sixth against a ranked opponent.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

1 – Saturday’s meeting between Virginia and Harvard marks their first-ever in Cambridge, Mass.

5 – Payton Cormier (195 goals) needs five goals to crack the top 5 of the NCAA Division I career goals list and eclipse the 200-goal milestone.

858 – Jack Boyden (332), Connor Shellenberger (285) and Payton Cormier (241) have combined for 858 career points. No other team in the nation has three active players on its roster combine for that amount.

SERIES HISTORY

• Virginia leads the all-time series against Harvard, 4-0.
• Saturday’s meeting is the first-ever to be held in Cambridge, Mass.
• The series began in 1954, when UVA defeated the Crimson 19-14 in Charlottesville. The two teams also played the following year (1955) with Virginia once again coming out on top, 18-10.
• The two teams also met in the 1996 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, which was hosted by Johns Hopkins.
• UVA defeated the Crimson 23-12 in the ’96 quarterfinals in what still stands as the largest margin of victory in the series.
• The Cavaliers ultimately fell 13-12 to Princeton in overtime of the national championship game that year.
• In one of the highest-scoring affairs in Division I history, UVA and Harvard combined for 46 goals, but the Cavaliers came out on top, 25-21, at Klöckner Stadium on Feb. 18, 2023.
• The 2023 matchup featured 49 total faceoffs, which stood as the Division I single-game record for 71 days before Marist and Quinnipiac combined for 52 total faceoffs on April 29, 2023.
• The 49 combined faceoffs between the Cavaliers and Harvard still stands at No. 2 all-time in DI history.
• Connor Shellenberger (3g, 7a) finished with a career-high 10 points. UVA led 20-8 at the half.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cavaliers notched a program-record 19 caused turnovers and held Drexel scoreless for the final 37:20 of action as UVA cruised to a 14-4 victory at Klöckner Stadium last Saturday (March 23).
• The Dragons’ four goals tied for second-fewest by a UVA opponent in a single game under the direction of head coach Lars Tiffany.
• Payton Cormier (6g), Griffin Schutz (3g), Connor Shellenberger (1g, 2a) and McCabe Millon (3a) each chipped in three at least points.
• Defensively, the Hoos were led by Cole Kastner (3ct, 4gb), Griffin Kology (4ct) and John Schroter (3ct, 1gb), who returned to the starting lineup after missing UVA’s previous three games.
• Matthew Nunes (8-1) earned the win in net after making 10 saves and registering a 71.4 save percentage. Backup netminder Kyle Morris relieved Nunes to start the fourth and turned away four shots to keep the Dragons off the scoreboard in the final period.

CAVALIERS AMONG THE NATION’S STATISTICAL LEADERS

• For games played through March 27, Virginia is second in the nation in assists (10.56), caused turnovers (11.56), clearing percentage (.940), ground balls (39.56) and points (26.11); fourth in man-up offense (.556) and scoring margin (5.44); sixth in scoring (15.56); and seventh in shot percentage (14.78).
• Among all Division I players this season, Payton Cormier is currently second in goals (4.00) and 12th in points (5.00). Connor Shellenberger is eighth in points (5.11) and ninth in assists (3.11). McCabe Millon is 18th in goals and Matthew Nunes is eighth in save percentage (.569) and 17th in goals-against average (9.96).

VIRGINIA IN THE POLLS

• 2 Virginia has been ranked in the top 5 of the USILA Coaches poll in 334 weeks all-time including in the most recent edition of the poll.
• Virginia has been ranked No. 1 in the nation in 70 all-time polls.
• UVA has been ranked in 526 out of 547 (.962) total USILA polls all-time.
• The USILA Poll began in 1973.

DOMINANCE OF PAYTON CORMIER & CONNOR SHELLENBERGER

• Payton Cormier and Connor Shellenberger have dominated the Division I ranks for the last three seasons together, and they guided the Hoos to a national championship in 2021.
• Since 2021, the duo has combined for 507 total points, which puts them at No. 3 all-time among pairs of teammates in DI history.
• Only Duke’s Zach Greer and Matt Danowski (596) and UAlbany’s Lyle and Miles Thompson (533) have combined for more points in DI history.

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers open ACC play on Saturday (April 6) when they host North Carolina (6-3).
• Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for noon on ESPNU.
• Virginia will honor its 1999 national championship team to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the program’s second NCAA title.