The No. 15 UVA (14-4-2) women’s soccer team, a three seed in the NCAA Tournament, continues its quest for the College Cup on Friday (Nov. 18) when it takes on Penn State (12-4-4) at 11 a.m. at Shaw Field at Georgetown.
Fans can follow the action live through GameTracker and a live video stream linked at VirginiaSports.com.
The winner of Friday’s contest will advance to face the winner of the match between Rutgers and Georgetown at noon on Sunday (Nov. 20).
The Cavaliers are coming off a 4-1 win over Monmouth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia finished 6-2-2 in the ACC this season, tying for fourth in the overall standings. The Cavaliers are currently ranked as high as No. 15 nationally in the latest NSCAA Coaches Poll.
Virginia is led offensively by senior Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) who was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and the ACC Midfielder of the Year. Shaffer has a team-leading 13 goals on the season and six assists for a total of 32 points. She is the second consecutive Virginia player to earn ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The Cavaliers had five players receive postseason honors from the ACC, including Shaffer, with senior defender Kristen McNabb (Montville, N.J.), junior forward Veronica Latsko (Venetia, Pa.), freshman Alissa Gorzak (Naperville, Ill.) and freshman midfielder Zoe Morse (East Lansing, Mich.) being recognized by the coaches. McNabb was an All-ACC second team selection, while Gorzak and Latsko were third team selections. Morse was an All-Freshman selection along with Gorzak.
Latsko is second on the team with eight goals this season, including four game-winners, while freshman Taylor Ziemer (Santa Rosa, Calif.) has scored seven goals. The Cavaliers have notched 49 goals as a team this season, while limiting opponents to only 16 goals this season.
In goal, Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) has recorded every decision for the Cavaliers. Virginia has posted 10 shutouts on the year with Stearns posting seven solo shutouts.
The Nittany Lions are the defending NCAA Champions and finished 7-1-3 in the Big 10 and were the two seed in the conference tournament. Penn State defeated Bucknell in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 6-0 to advance to the second-round matchup with the Cavaliers.
Penn State has scored 37 goals this season and allowed only 17 by opponents. The Nittany Lions are led offensively by Frannie Crouse with 12 goals this season. She has also tallied three assists for a total of 27 points on the season. Megan Schafer and Charlotte Williams each have six goals for Penn State this season.
Amanda Dennis has all the decisions in goal for Penn State this season, posting a 14-4-4 record and has posted seven solo shutouts. Penn State has nine shutouts on the season.
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Chris Graham
