Courtesy of UVA media relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
Virginia’s No. 12 field hockey team opens the 2022 season with two road games. The Cavaliers play No. 11 Penn State on Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 17 Delaware on Sunday at 1 p.m.
DISSEMINATION INFORMATION
- Friday’s match will be broadcast on B1G+ (subscription required)
- Sunday’s match will be broadcast on FloSports (subscription required)
- Live stats will be available for the game.
- Links are posted on VirginiaSports.com
NOTE TO THOSE ATTENDING THE PENN STATE GAME
- The installation does not have stands this year. You will need to bring your own lawn/stadium chair or blanket to sit on
WATCHING THE KNIGHTS
- Friday kicks off Virginia’s 50th field hockey season. Field hockey was one of three women’s sports that began at UVA in 1973-74 along with basketball and tennis.
- The Cavaliers are No. 12 in the NFHCA Preseason Coaches Poll and were picked to finish fourth in the ACC Preseason Poll. They open the season with road games at No. 11 Penn State and No. 17 Delaware.
- Virginia and Penn State have played each other on the opening weekend in an alternating home-and-home series every year since 2009, except for the 2020-21 COVID-19 season.
- The Cavaliers will play four of the top six teams in the NFHCA preseason standings, including a road game against the reigning NCAA champions and No. 1 preseason seed Northwestern on Sept. 11. Thirteen of the 17 opponents on UVA’s schedule are preseason rated. poll
- Last season, Virginia advanced to the ACC Championship game, falling 1-0 to UNC in the final.
- The Cavaliers earned an overall NCAA Championship bid, their 25th trip to the NCAA Championship in program history and 13th in head coach Michele Madison’s 16 seasons at Virginia.
- Virginia went 12-9 last season. Four of those losses, including to Penn State and Maryland, came in overtime. The other five losses were by a one-goal margin, including a 1-0 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Championship game and a 2-1 loss to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Championship. Virginia avenged two of its one-goal losses in the ACC Championship, beating BC and Louisville
- Virginia had a balanced attack with 14 different players scoring at least one goal last season. Ten of those scorers return this season
- Adele Iacobucci, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC team, is a two-time NFHCA All-Region First Team honoree. She is the only All-Region player returning for the Cavaliers.
- Annie McDonough, returning for the fifth year, was one of two Cavaliers to earn All-ACC honors last season. She was named to the second team.
- Virginia returns with four of its top five point contributors from last season. Both Annie McDonough and Laura Janssen had 12 points each, ranking second on the team.
- Laura Janssen and Noa Boterman were tied for second on the team in goal scoring with five each. Annie McDonough and Adele Iacobucci scored four goals each
- Second-year goalie Tyler Kennedy returns to the cage after a stellar freshman campaign. Kennedy won the starting goalkeeper job last season, moving to the starting position on Sept. 10. He appeared in 20 of UVA’s 21 games with 17 starts. He was second in the ACC with a .735 save percentage. He had an average of 1.23 goals against
- Virginia welcomes eight freshmen and one graduate transfer, giving the team nine newcomers
- Lindsay Dickinson graduated from UConn last year and is now enrolled in a graduate program at UVA. She is a member of the USA Women’s Development Team. The back was a member of the 2021 NFHCA Middle East Region Second Team, All-Big East Second Team, and the Big East All-Tournament Team.
- Of the first eight years, four are high school All-Americans (Sloan Davidson, Daniela Mendez-Trendler, Caroline Nemec, Madison Orsi) and two are from the Netherlands (Isabelle Roskott, Jet Trimborn)
OBSERVING THE PENN STATE
- Penn State is No. 11 in NFHCA preseason poll
- Penn State is coming off a 14-6 season that saw the team go 6-2 in Big Ten games. The Lions earned a spot in the 2021 NCAA Tournament field, but lost a first-round game
- Senior Mackenzie Allessie and junior Sophia Gladieux return after being ranked first-team All-Americans, All-Region and All-Big Ten last year. Gladieux was also the Regional Player of the Year. Gladieux led Penn State with 38 points from 18 goals and two assists last season, while Allessie recorded 30 from nine and 12.
- Penn State head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss (season 39) ranks fourth among active coaches with 558 career wins. UVA head coach Michele Madison (season 34) is sixth with 431, giving the two coaches a combined 989 wins.
- Penn State leads the all-time series 20-8. Penn State won last year’s meeting 3-2 in overtime
LOOKING AT DELAWARE
- Delaware is No. 17 in the NFHCA Preseason Poll and chosen to finish first in the CAA
- The Blue Hens have won the CAA in each of the last three seasons and were the 2016 NCAA Champions.
- Reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player Julia Duffhuis was voted Preseason Player of the Year. She had a team-high 29 points on 13 goals and three assists last season.
- Head coach Rolf van de Kerkhoff was an assistant coach to Michele Madison at Michigan State for seven years. He took over as the Spartans’ head coach when Madison arrived in Virginia. He has been in Delaware since December 2010.
- Virginia leads the all-time series 11-8-1. UVA won last year’s meeting 3-1
ON THE HORIZON
- Virginia has its first home game on Friday, September 2, hosting Temple at 6 pm at Turf Field. It will be a homecoming for the Owls’ head coach and assistant coach, UVA alum Michelle and Carissa Vittese.
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