Hoos Open NCAA Play With Princeton Friday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s soccer team (12-5-0) opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday (Nov. 15) as the Cavaliers host Ivy League champion Princeton (14-4-0) in a first-round matchup. Kick is set for 7 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday night’s contest will be streamed on ESPN+ which is available through the ESPN app and at ESPN.com. Live stats for the game are also available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official account on X (@UVAWomenSoccer).

TICKETS & PARKING INFORMATION
Reserved seats are $12 if available, while general admission seats are $8. Student tickets are available for $5. All tickets can be purchased online.

All parking lots will be paid access. Parking can be purchased in advance for $10 at UVATix.com or on-site for $15. Payment is by card only. No cash will be accepted.

QUICK KICKS

• The Hoos open up NCAA Tournament play at home on Friday night with a matchup against Princeton.
• The NCAA Tournament berth marks the 36th appearance for the Hoos which is the second-most appearances in the NCAA Tournament nationally in tournament history
• The Hoos earned an NCAA bid and a four seed by playing the nation’s 13th toughest schedule and an RPI of 10, going 12-5 against a slate that featured five teams in the top 10 of the RPI
• Lia Godfrey has been rounding into form down the stretch and delivered her first assist of the season at No. 12 Virginia Tech for her ninth career assist on a game-winning goal
• Godfrey hit her second game-winning goal of the season against Clemson and now has six game-winning goals in her career – second behind Maggie Cagle (8) among active UVA players
• Godfrey and Cagle are the duo that pace the Virginia offense over the last three years as Godfrey has tallied 61 points and Cagle has tallied 60 points for her career
• Cagle’s 24 career assists have her just outside the top 10 at UVA in career assists, while Godfrey sits 10th all-time with 27 career assists entering the NCAA Tournament
• Cagle was named an All-ACC honoree for the third time when she picked up third-team honors in a vote of the league’s coaches this season
• Meredith McDermott has been timely with her strikes, hitting her fourth game-winning goal this season at No. 12 Virginia Tech. She has five total goals this season
• Viki Safradin posted her sixth clean sheet of the season in the win at No. 12 Virginia Tech as the Cavaliers posted the team’s ninth clean sheet of the year

THE SERIES WITH PRINCETON

• Virginia and Princeton have met twice before with the Hoos claiming games played in 1997 and 1998
• The Cavaliers won the first meeting 3-0 in the 1997 season before taking a 2-1 victory in the 1998 contest
• All games will have been played in Charlottesville. This will be the first meeting in the postseason

A DEEPER LOOK AT VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Virginia holds a 54-29-8 record in matches played in the NCAA Tournament all-time
• That record is impressive in the Swanson era with a 51-19-7 mark under his leadership
• The Cavaliers have out-scored foes 191-to-95 in NCAA Tournament matches
• That score margin is more pronounced under Swanson coming in at 178-to-70 all-time

HOOS HAVE BEEN A MAINSTAY IN THE POSTSEASON WITH A STRETCH OF DEEP NCAA RUNS

• The Hoos have been a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament with 36 appearances overall
• The 36 appearances is second all-time behind only North Carolina
• Virginia had an active streak of 14 consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16 until the 2019 season’s loss to eventual College Cup participant Washington State in the second round
• The appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2022 at Penn State was the 17th in an 18-year stretch for the Cavaliers
• Virginia has made eight appearances in the quarterfinals under head coach Steve Swanson – making it in 2001, 2005, 2011 2013, 2014. 2015, the 2020-21 season and again in 2022
• The appearance in the quarterfinals against UCLA in 2022 was the ninth all-time for UVA
• UVA advanced to the College Cup in the 2013, 2014 and 2020 seasons – making a finals appearance in 2014
• UVA also advanced to the quarterfinals in 1991 when Virginia went on to make its first semifinal appearance