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Weekend Previews: Sept. 5-7

The Skinny on weekend games for Virginia’s men’s soccer, field hockey, and men’s golf teams. More extensive previews for the football, volleyball and women’s soccer teams are available online and in Thursday’s issue of the Cavalier Daily.

Men’s Soccer

What: No. 3 Virginia (1-0-0) vs. Tulsa (1-1-0), No. 18 UAB (2-0-0)

Where: Hurricane Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma

When: Friday, 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.

The Skinny: Fresh off a season opening overtime victory against Old Dominion, No. 3 Virginia will make the trek this weekend to Tulsa, Oklahoma to compete in the Hurricane Classic. The four-team tournament, hosted by Tulsa, will feature No. 18 Alabama-Birmingham and California State Northridge in addition to the Cavaliers and Golden Hurricane.

Virginia will play its first game under Friday night lights against Tulsa to open its weekend. But while the Golden Hurricane might not be represented in the NSCAA coaches’ rankings, it seems poised to challenge the Cavaliers.

In its first season competing in the American Athletic Conference, Tulsa returns eight starters from its 2013 Conference-USA runner-up squad.

Despite a loss against No. 15 St. Louis to open the season, the Golden Hurricane is flying high after defeating SIU-Edwardsville, 2-1, in double overtime. Senior forward Austin Neil and sophomore goalkeeper Jake McGuire earned AAC Offensive Player of the Week and Goalkeeper of the Week, respectively, for their efforts in the win.

Sunday will not provide an easier foe for the Cavaliers as they face UAB — the 2013 NCAA leader in scoring offense at 2.39 goals per game. The Blazers return the top three scorers from last season, though their newfound weapon is junior defender Ian Svantesson.

Svantesson has tallied two goals on the season and leads the C-USA in scoring with four points. He was the C-USA player of the week and named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his efforts in UAB’s victories against Memphis and Mercer.

An injury riddled Cavalier team will be without the services of their starting goalkeeper this weekend, as freshman Jeff Caldwell will be training with the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team in Buenos Aires, Argentina until Sept. 10. Senior goalkeeper Calle Brown — who started the final eight matches of 2013 — will get the starting nod for the tournament.

—compiled by Robert Elder

Field Hockey

What: No. 6 Virginia (1-2) vs. No. 7 Princeton (0-0)

Where: U-Hall Turf Field

When: Sunday, Sept. 7, 11:30 a.m.

The Skinny: The Cavaliers will play their first home game of the season Sunday morning, facing off against the Princeton Tigers in a battle of field hockey heavyweights.

Virginia is fresh off a hard-fought 4-3 loss on the road against No. 20 Iowa Thursday afternoon, hoping they can end their first multi-game losing streak in three seasons against Princeton. The team will look to sophomore strikers Caleigh Foust and Riley Tata to take the lead on the offensive end, each with three goals already through three games.

The Cavaliers and Tigers have created something of a rivalry in recent years, meeting five times in a span of three years between 2010 and 2012, though the teams didn’t play each other last season. Princeton held the edge with three wins out of the five games, one of them a 5-2 victory in the NCAA Tournament en route to the Tigers first national championship.

Princeton opens their season Friday on the road against No. 4 Duke. Just like the Cavaliers, the Tigers lost their leader in points from last season to graduation. Then-senior midfielder Michelle Cesan was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year after tallying 10 goals and 10 assists over 19 games.

But Princeton does bring back its top goal scorer from 2013 in senior striker Allison Evans, who found the back of the net 11 times last season. A Virginia defense that has given up seven goals in the past two games after holding William & Mary scoreless in the season opener will need to work hard to keep Evans off the score sheet Sunday.

—compiled by Peter Nance

Men’s Golf

What: Northern Intercollegiate

Where: Sugar Grove, Illinois

When: Sept. 5–7

The Skinny: In the first tournament of the season the Virginia men’s golf team, ranked No. 17 by Golfweek, heads to Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois this weekend for the Northern Intercollegiate. The Cavaliers will compete against a field that includes Purdue, Louisville, Marquette, North Texas, Central Florida, Houston, Lamar, Indiana, Ball State, Ohio State, Northern Illinois and Winthrop.

The Virginia lineup will have a notable absence as senior All-American Denny McCarthy is abroad in Japan, preparing to compete with the USGA complement at the World Team Amateur Championships. McCarthy placed first on the leaderboard at the Northern Intercollegiate in 2012.

At last season’s tournament, the Cavaliers finished second in the 15-team field, just one shot off the trail of champion UCF. Three Virginia players reached the top 10 — McCarthy at fourth and senior Ji Soo Park and sophomore Jimmy Stanger tied for ninth.

—compiled by Peter Nance

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