CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 21 Virginia women’s soccer team (2-0-0) hits the road for the first time this season when the Cavaliers travel to face No. 3 Penn State (1-0-0) in a Thursday night contest (Aug. 22). Kick is set for 5:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday’s game will be streamed on B1G+ and live stats will be provided. Links to both can be found at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official account on X (@UVAWomenSoccer).

QUICK KICKS

  • The Cavaliers broke into the top 25 this week in the United Soccer Coaches rankings, coming in at No. 21 after receiving votes in the preseason poll
  • Virginia won both matches 2-0 last week, defeating Towson and Northwestern to start the season
  • Tatum Galvin was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Cavaliers to the two shutouts to earn her first weekly honor from the league office
  • Laughlin Ryan scored her first career goal and Maggie Cagle added the second to down Towson
  • Cagle and Lia Godfrey were named preseason All-ACC selections by the league’s coaches
  • Both players were also named to Top Drawer Soccer’s preseason Best XI Team with Godfrey named a second-team midfielder and Cagle named a third team forward
  • Godfrey (14) and Cagle (25) were also named to the Top Drawer Soccer preseason Top 100 Players
  • Cagle is the returning assist leader from a year ago with 7 in 2023 tied with Meredith McDermott for the team lead in goals scored (8) last season
  • McDermott scored the opening goal against Northwestern two first-half goals lifted UVA to victory
  • The Hoos play a challenging schedule this season that includes six games against teams in the preseason top 25, including three in the in the top 5 and five in the preseason top 15
  • Yuna McCormack was called up to the U20 USWYNT for the U20 Women’s World Cup in September
  • UVA received the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for performance in the classroom during the 2023-24 academic year to mark the 15th consecutive season to earn the honor

THE SERIES WITH PENN STATE

  • Virginia and Penn State have faced off 17 times with the series knotted up 8-8-1
  • The Cavaliers lead 5-4-1 in games played at Penn State with 10 of the 17 games coming on the road
  • The last meeting came at Penn State in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament – a game the Hoos won 3-2 in overtime
  • The Hoos got goals from Jill Flammia and Maya Carter in regulation (Carter tied the game in the 88th minute)
  • Haley Hopkins hit the eventual game winner in the 94th minute to send the Cavaliers to the Elite Eight at No. 1 UCLA