Nov 9, 2012

No. 2 UVA Women open NCAA First Round against No. 21 La Salle


CHARLOTTESVILLEThe ACC Champion Virginia women's soccer team will open play in the 2012 NCAA Tournament on Friday as it hosts Atlantic 10 Champion La Salle. Game time at Klöckner Stadium is set for 6 p.m. The matchup of the No. 2 Cavaliers and No. 21 Explorers is the only NCAA first round match between two teams ranked in the Soccer America Top 25.


Tickets for the game are $9 for reserved seats, $7 for adult general admission and $5 for youth/student/senior citizen general admission. Fans can order tickets for the tournament online at VirginiaSports.com and by phone through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets are also available at the gate beginning one hour prior to the start of play.

Free public parking will be available in the University Hall lot and the Emmet/Ivy Garage. The Virginia women's basketball team hosts James Madison at 7 p.m. on Friday, so the John Paul Jones Arena west lot is reserved for women's basketball permit holders.

This season marks the 15th time in the past 19 years that the Cavaliers have hosted NCAA Tournament play at Klöckner Stadium. Overall, Virginia has a 19-10-3 record in home NCAA Tournament games.

Virginia is making its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 25th overall appearance. Only North Carolina and Notre Dame have longer active streaks of tournament appearances. Last year Virginia advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Long Island, Washington State and Virginia Tech at home before falling at Florida State.

The Cavaliers are 16-4-1 this season and received an automatic selection to the tournament after winning the ACC Tournament last week. Virginia moved up to No. 2 in the Soccer America rankings this week, its highest place in the poll since 2004, after the school’s first ACC title. The Cavaliers enter the game on a five-game winning streak, all against ranked opposition, outscoring foes 19-3 in those contests.

La Salle is 17-4-1 and won the program’s first Atlantic 10 Championship last week. After starting the season 3-3-0, the Explorers are 14-1-1 since mid-September. La Salle is in the field of 64 for the second consecutive year after losing its NCAA debut 5-1 at Maryland last year.

Friday’s game is the first-ever meeting between Virginia and La Salle. It marks the fifth consecutive year that the Cavaliers have met a first-time opponent in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Virginia-La Salle winner will meet the Rutgers-Colgate winner in the second round. That game will be played on Friday, Nov. 16.  

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