The Skinny on weekend competition for Virginia’s field hockey, men’s soccer, men’s swim and dive, and women’s golf teams. More extensive previews for the football, rowing and volleyball teams are available online. The football and rowing previews are also available in Thursday’s issue of The Cavalier Daily.
Field Hockey
What: No. 8 Virginia (12-5, 4-1 ACC) at No. 14 Boston College (11-5, 2-3 ACC); at Boston University (8-7, 3-1 Patriot League)
Where: Newton, Massachusetts; Boston, Massachusetts
When: Friday, 7 p.m. (at Boston College); Sunday, 12 p.m. (at Boston University)
Coming off a 1-0 loss at home this past Sunday against in-state rival No. 17 Old Dominion, the Virginia field hockey team looks to regain some momentum this weekend as it ends the regular season against a pair of Boston teams.
Up first is the final ACC opponent of the season, the Eagles of Boston College. Virginia has had its number in recent years, winning five of the last six meetings between the two teams. But the Cavaliers know that’s not reason to overlook the Eagles. Entering the weekend on a three-game winning streak, Boston College is seeking its first win in the series since 2011. Twin sophomore sisters forward Eryn McCoy and midfielder Emily McCoy have led the charge on offense this season — Emily leads the squad with nine goals on the year, while Eryn is second with eight.
Two days later, Virginia travels just up the road to face the Terriers in the regular season finale. The Cavaliers and star freshman midfielder Tara Vittese will have to contend with a potent BU defense, only surrendering 1.94 goals per game. Last weekend, the Terriers split a pair of games, downing Holy Cross 4-0 before falling to UMass 2-1 in overtime. They open this weekend with a road game against American Friday afternoon before returning home to host Virginia Sunday.
—compiled by Peter Nance
Men’s Soccer
What: No. 22 Virginia (9-4-1, 3-2-1 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (8-6-0, 3-3-0 ACC)
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Klöckner Stadium
After rebounding nicely from a loss at Clemson with a dominating 3-0 win against Radford Tuesday night, the Virginia men’s soccer team is seeking its sixth win in seven games when it plays Wake Forest under the Friday night lights.
The Cavaliers — after struggling to find the back of the net against the Tigers — found new offensive life against the Highlanders, taking just their second multi-goal victory of the season. Redshirt freshman defender Wesley Suggs and redshirt freshman midfielder Pablo Aguilar each scored their first collegiate goals as Virginia outshot Radford 20-4.
The stout three-man Virginia back line — which surrenders just .62 goals per game as redshirt senior goalkeeper Calle Brown ranks ninth nationally in save percentage — will be tested against a Wake Forest offense that ranks sixth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 2.36 goals per game.
The Demon Deacons are coming off back-to-back four-goal performances in wins against Boston College and Howard.
The Cavaliers faced Wake Forest twice last season, dropping a regular season matchup, 3-2, before taking the 1-0 overtime victory in the ACC quarterfinals thanks to a converted penalty kick by then-sophomore midfielder Todd Wharton.
Nine Cavalier seniors — including team captain senior midfielder Eric Bird — will be honored prior to kickoff in their final regular-season match at Klöckner Stadium.
The match will be streamed on ESPN3.com.
—compiled by Robert Elder
Men’s Swimming & Diving
What: Virginia vs. Navy
When: Friday, 4 p.m.
Where: Aquatic and Fitness Center
The Virginia men’s swimming and diving team hits the pool for its first meet of the 2014-15 season Friday afternoon in Charlottesville, when the Cavaliers battle Navy at the AFC. Though the swimming portion of the meet kicks off at 4 p.m., divers will start up at 1:45 p.m.
Virginia dealt Navy a decisive 212-88 loss last year in Annapolis, Maryland, capturing first place in 14 of 16 events. But the Cavalier roster took a hit earlier this week, when Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage announced the suspension of seniors Kyle Dudzinski, David Ingraham, Jake Pearce and Charlie Rommel — plus 2013 ACC Freshman of the Year Luke Papendick — for the entire fall semester.
The athletes were disciplined for “violations of University of Virginia policy and athletics department rules,” according to a press release.
With those key performers missing, the Cavaliers will seek to build on last year’s campaign, in which the team posted a 6-5 dual-meet record before placing fourth at the ACC Championships and 26th at the NCAA Championships.
Navy (2-1) has 23 letterwinners back from last season, when the Midshipmen won their 11th consecutive Patriot League title. Among the returners are six 2013-14 First-Team All-Patriot League athletes.
Navy has already competed in three meets this year. The Midshipmen are 2-0 since a season-opening loss to Georgia Tech. Their wins came against George Mason and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
—compiled by Matthew Morris
Women’s Golf
What: The Landfall Tradition
Where: Wilmington, North Carolina
When: Oct. 24-26
Closing out the fall season, the Virginia women’s golf team heads back to the state of North Carolina this weekend for the Landfall Tradition. Coming in at No. 18 in the latest Golfweek rankings, the Cavaliers face a talented field which includes 10 other top-30 teams. Including Virginia, six ACC squads will be present at this weekend’s tournament — No. 3 Duke, No. 14 NC State, No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 39 Notre Dame and No. 46 North Carolina.
Two weeks ago at the Tar Heel Invitational, Lauren Diaz-Yi took first place on the individual side, her first collegiate victory. The sophomore shot a 7-under 209, four strokes clear of the second-place finisher. As a team, the Cavaliers finished in the six-spot, 21 shots behind tournament champions the Blue Devils.
Breaking for the rest of the fall after this weekend, Virginia’s next tournament will be the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida Feb. 8-10.
—compiled by Peter Nance
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