UVA ranked ninth in preseason women’s soccer poll

The UVA women’s soccer team enters the 2019 season as the ninth-ranked team nationally according to the preseason poll released by the United Soccer Coaches (USC) on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers finished the 2018 season ranked No. 11 in the final USC poll after advancing to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the 14th consecutive season. It is the longest active streak of appearances in the Round of 16 in NCAA Division I women’s soccer. Virginia also finished fourth in the ACC and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championships a year ago.

This season, the Cavaliers will face eight teams ranked in the preseason top 25, including home matches against No. 7 Georgetown, No. 8 Duke, No. 11 West Virginia and No. 25 Virginia Tech. Virginia will play road matches at No. 1 Florida State, No. 6 Penn State, No. 21 NC State and No. 23 Wake Forest.

The Cavaliers return 16 letterwinners from a year ago and field a team that features seven players in their fourth season with the program. Among those returning players is 2018 All-America Phoebe McClernon (West Chester, Pa.) and All-Region selections Rebecca Jarrett (Washington Township, N.J.), Courtney Petersen (Canton, Mich.) and Alexa Spaanstra (Brighton, Mich.). Zoe Morse (East Lansing, Mich.) was named an All-ACC selection a year ago along with Jarrett, McClernon, Petersen and Spaanstra to round out the returning players receiving post-season honors a year ago.

Three Virginia players were also recently named to the Hermann Trophy preseason watch list with McClernon, Spaanstra and goalkeeper Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) among those on the initial list.

A group of 10 newcomers join the squad as part of an incoming class that was ranked No. 14 nationally, including three players among the nation’s top 150 players, two Gatorade Players of the Year and a trio of players who have competed internationally with the U.S. U17 Women’s National Team.

Virginia opens its season on Friday, Aug. 23, against UC Irvine to kick off a stretch of seven consecutive home games to start the season.

2019 Ticket Information

Season tickets and single-game tickets for all home Virginia women’s soccer matches are available for purchase now. Single-season ticket purchases feature discounted tickets when purchasing online and in advance of game day for phone and sales at Bryant Hall. For all regular season home games, reserved single-game tickets can be purchased for $8 online and in advance, and $10 at the box office on game day. General admission single-game tickets are $5 online and in advance, and $8 at the box office on game day.

For more information on season and single game tickets, visit: https://wahoowa.net/BuyUVASoccerTickets.