The No. 1 seeded Virginia women’s soccer team returns to NCAA Tournament action Friday against Georgetown. Both squads are coming off shutout victories in their first-round matches against Saint Francis and La Salle, respectively.
Last week, the Cavaliers (21-1-0, 13-0 ACC) rebounded strongly from their first loss of the season, which came against Virginia Tech in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, cruising past the Red Flash (13-8-1, 7-1-0 NEC) with a score of 5-0. The vaunted Virginia defense allowed just three shots, an astonishing feat in itself against a team featuring senior forward Tesa McKibben, the NCAA active career scoring leader.
The Hoyas (16-2-2, 7-1-1 Big East) faced similar circumstances entering the NCAA Tournament, getting ousted in a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. DePaul defeated Georgetown 1-0 in the match despite being outshot 26-2.
Georgetown used its loss as motivation in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, evidenced by a 2-0 drubbing of La Salle (15-5-3, 5-2-1 A-10) in which the Hoyas limited the Explorers to just eight shots.
Both teams, however, are in the midst of unprecedentedly stellar seasons. Virginia has set numerous school records, including its first ever 20-0 start and first ever ACC Regular Season Championship. The Hoyas tied their school record for most wins in a single season with the first-round victory against La Salle.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Klöckner Stadium.
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