After falling 15-12 to Syracuse in the ACC quarterfinals, Virginia will compete against Elon with hopes to advance to the second round against No. 2 seed North Carolina Friday.
This match marks the second time this season that the two teams have faced off, with their first meeting resulting in a last-second free position goal that put Elon (13-6, 4-2 CAA) over the top 11-10 and started the Cavalier’s (11-8, 4-3 ACC) season with a close loss.
In their match, Junior attacker Stephanie Asher proved to be a challenge to contain — leading the Elon offense with five goals. On the other side of the field, the Elon defense was able to make the most of being two players down and prevented Virginia from finding the back of the net in the final minutes.
Now, with a full season behind both teams, a proven Virginia team and a successful Elon squad will look to recover from stinging conference tournament losses. Virginia, which looked to reclaim an ACC championship win for the first time since 2008, fell short in a hard-fought match against Syracuse. Elon, on the other hand, was picked apart in the CAA semifinals, losing to James Madison, 7-15.
Virginia — which has shown to be capable in making clutch shots against top-ranked opponents — will need to display its growth as a team since the start of the season, making use of its exceptionally fast midfield to catch the defense off guard to get good looks on goal.
Virginia and Elon will square off in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday at 5 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
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