A look ahead at this weekend's biggest sporting events. For a full preview of the weekend's football matchup, click here.
Men’s Golf
What: No. 13 Men’s golf at DICK’S Sporting Goods Challenge Cup
Where: The Golf Club of Tennessee in Nashville, Tennessee
When: Sept. 19-21, All Day
The 13th-ranked Virginia men’s golf team will travel to the Golf Club of Tennessee this weekend to participate in the DICK’S Sporting Goods Challenge Cup. Six teams each from the ACC and SEC will face off in a 54-hole stroke play event Friday and Saturday. At the conclusion of stroke play, the teams will be seeded based on their finish and then compete in an 18-hole Conference Challenge Match Play event Sunday for the 2014 ACC/SEC Conference Challenge Champion. Last year, the SEC claimed the title.
Virginia will compete alongside fellow ACC members Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville and NC State. The SEC representatives include Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
The Cavaliers are coming off a season-opening 3-stroke win at the Northern Intercollegiate, led by top-10 finishes by sophomores Jimmy Stanger and Derek Bard. Senior Ji Soo Park and freshman Austen Truslow also finished 11th and 17th, respectively, in the event. Senior Denny McCarthy will also return to the team this weekend after leading Team USA to the World Team Amateur Championship last weekend in Japan. McCarthy placed fifth individually in the event.
The first group will tee off at 8 a.m. Friday.
—compiled by Zack Bartee
Field Hockey
What: No. 10 Virginia Field Hockey (5-2, 1-0 ACC) at No. 3 Duke (6-0, 1-0 ACC), vs. No. 7 Albany (6-1, 0-0 America East)
Where: Durham, North Carolina; Charlottesville, Virginia
When: Friday, 6 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.
Riding a four-game winning streak after starting the season 1-2, the Virginia field hockey team faces a pair of top-10 matchups this weekend, hitting the road to battle Duke Friday evening before returning home to host Albany Sunday afternoon.
Though the Cavaliers came out victors in each of their two games last weekend, they needed extra time both days to secure the win. In the ACC opener last Friday, Virginia and conference newcomer No. 14 Louisville were locked at two goals apiece through regulation plus one overtime period before sophomore striker Caleigh Foust scored the winner 1:43 into second overtime. The Cavaliers found themselves in overtime again two days later against Rutgers, though this time Foust only needed one extra period to net the deciding goal.
This weekend, the Blue Devils will pose a major challenge to Virginia on the defensive end. Through six games this season — five against ranked teams — Duke has allowed just three goals. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Blazing has a paltry 0.48 goals against average, though the Cavaliers will look to raise that.
Albany is similarly stout on defense, giving up only three goals through seven games. The Great Danes have charged onto the scene, going from unranked to the top-10 in two weeks, aided by a 1-0 win last Sunday against No. 8 Stanford. Virginia will need to come out strong on offense to have a chance at earning wins in both matches this weekend.
—compiled by Peter Nance
Men’s Soccer
What: No. 7 Virginia (4-1-0, 1-0-0 ACC) vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (3-1-1, 1-0-0 ACC)
Where: Klöckner Stadium
When: Sunday, 12 p.m.
A year after twice being besting by Virginia, the defending national champions will travel to Charlottesville seeking revenge against the Cavaliers.
Virginia handed the Fighting Irish their only loss of the season when the teams clashed last October. Then-sophomore forward Darius Madison scored both Cavalier goals, while the Virginia defense recorded one of only two shutouts against Notre Dame all season.
The Cavaliers again met Notre Dame after advancing to the ACC semifinals in November. After falling behind 3-1 in the 81st minute, Virginia responded by pulling arguably its most impressive comeback of the season. Goals in the 85th and 87th minute tied the game 3, and the Cavaliers advanced in the penalty kick shootout.
But after responding to the ACC tournament loss by winning the national championship, Notre Dame is poised to again challenge the Cavaliers. The Fighting Irish have defeated two ranked teams this season — No. 17 Marquette and No. 23 Syracuse — in addition to tying No. 13 Georgetown. Notre Dame’s only loss thus far came against Kentucky, when the Wildcats score the game-winning goal in the 90th minute.
Meanwhile, Virginia has also started the season with a hot start. The Cavaliers have tallied three consecutive wins — the last two 1-0 victories against Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth, respectively — and are a perfect 3-0 at home on the season.
The game will be broadcast by ESPNU.
—compiled by Robert Elder
Women’s Soccer
What: No. 3 Virginia (8-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. Miami (4-6, 0-0 ACC)
Where: Klöckner Stadium
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
The third-ranked Cavaliers open ACC play this weekend when they host Miami Saturday night, kicking off what many consider the hardest conference schedule in the country.
Virginia has been dominant in early season out-of-conference matches, winning its first eight games and shutting its opponents out in five, while ranking 9th in scoring offense and 11th in goals against average.
The early season success has been an impressive team effort, with 12 different scorers and everyone on the roster getting playing time. Additionally, with only five returning starters from last year’s College Cup team, and nine new additions to the squad, the cohesiveness early on is extraordinary.
Furthermore, Virginia has taken home its last three wins while playing without their star senior midfielder Morgan Brian, the only college player to be called up for the U.S. Women’s National Team camp and friendlies against Mexico this week.
Heading into ACC play, however, the Cavaliers are going to need to play a step above their already-spectacular early season play, as the ACC is to Division 1 Women’s Soccer what the SEC is to college football — elite. The conference boasts four teams in the top 10 and five in the top 25 and is competitive top to bottom beyond the ranked teams.
The Cavaliers’ opponent this weekend, Miami, is currently riding a 3-game losing streak coming into Charlottesville. But Virginia is coming off of a rough stretch physically, as it played three games in six days. These two factors, plus the extra motivation from playing the third-ranked team in the country, could create an interesting atmosphere under the lights at Klöckner.
—compiled Jacob Hochberger
Women’s Golf
What: Mason-Rudolph Championship
Where: Franklin, Tennessee
When: Sept. 19-21
Ranked No. 20 by Golfweek, the Virginia women’s golf team heads to the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee this weekend for the second tournament of the year.
The Cavaliers compete against 13 other squads at the Mason-Rudolph Championships, a field which features nine teams ranked by Golfweek, including Virginia. Last year’s tournament champion UCLA is not competing in the event this time around, opening the door for a new winner.
Earlier this week, the Cavaliers opened their season with a fourth place finish at the Cougar Classic in South Charleston, South Carolina. Virginia shot a 3-under 861, led by junior Elizabeth Szokol, a transfer from Northwestern. Szokol placed 11th on the individual side with a 4-under 212, the best score of her career.
In addition to Szokol, Virginia will look to sophomore Lauren Diaz-Yi and senior Briana Mao to lead the team on the course this weekend. Both Diaz-Yi and Mao finished in the top-50 at the NCAA Championships in the spring, and they placed 15th with a 2-under 214 and 22nd with a 1-over 217, respectively, at the Cougar Classic, the best finishes for Cavaliers behind Szokol.
—compiled Peter Nance
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