The UVA field hockey team will host American in a preseason exhibition game at Turf Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission is free.
The Cavaliers, who opened up fall camp on Wednesday, will face the Eagles in one of two preseason scrimmages. UVA will host William & Mary next Saturday (Aug. 24) in its final tune-up before the start of the regular season.
Sunday’s game will be the first chance for fans to see the 2019 squad that will be anchored by four seniors: midfielder Erin Shanahan (Pasadena, Md.), back Anzel Viljoen (Matamata, New Zealand), striker Catesby Willis (Fredericksburg, Va.) and back Colleen Norair (Fredericksburg, Va.). It will also be the first opportunity to watch UVA’s six newcomers take the field.
Sunday’s scrimmage will be the debut of the new quarter system for NCAA field hockey. Mirroring international rules, the game will now be divided into four 15-minute quarters instead of two 35-minute halves. There will be a two-minute break between the first and second and third and fourth periods, with halftime remaining as a 10-minute break. Additionally, the clock will now stop every time a penalty corner is awarded and will restart on the umpire’s whistle when both teams are set and ready.
American has been picked to finish second in the Patriot League in the preseason poll with junior Noor Coenen selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Coenen leads the returners with her 24 points from 2018 after she scored a team-high nine goals and pitched in six assists. The Eagles return five starters from the 2018 team that closed the season with an overall record of 9-9 (4-2 PL) and the program’s 13th Patriot League Championship appearance.
Live stats and streaming will not be available for the contest.
The Cavaliers open the regular-season on the road on Friday, August 30 at Old Dominion before taking on Penn State in the home-opener on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 12 p.m.
ACC Network the new, 24/7 national platform launching on August 22, 2019, will elevate the ACC’s field hockey, women’s soccer and volleyball programs with unprecedented national television coverage this fall. ACCN will exclusively televise 62 field hockey, women’s soccer and volleyball games in its debut year – representing a 90 percent increase in the number of ACC women’s events available on an ESPN linear network over last year and the most live, national coverage of ACC women’s fall sports ever. The Cavaliers will have three games broadcast on the ACC Network with another two games being televised by the ACC Regional Sports Networks.
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Chris Graham
