Men’s Soccer
What: Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
Where: Thompson Field in Blacksburg
The Skinny: After a strong two-goal victory against Marquette at Klöckner, the No. 12 Cavaliers take on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg for their ACC road opener.
Virginia (4-0-1) looks to continue its undefeated streak after picking up a 2-0 victory against the struggling Golden Eagles (0-4-1).
The Cavaliers have exceeded any expectations in terms of offensive production, finding the back of the net at least twice in every contest this season.
Tuesday night, the Cavaliers faced a desperate team, and sophomore forward Raheem Taylor-Parkes stepped into the starting role beautifully. He got the job done in place of missing star junior forward Edward Opoku, who was sidelined with a red card.
Opoku will be back for the contest against the Hokies (2-3), an opponent who has struggled since opening the year ranked 17th overall.
Virginia Tech gave up five goals in a late August game against Omaha and left a lot to be desired when they faced off against No. 23 Duke last Friday night — trailing six to 19 in shots by the end of the game. The result was a 3-1 defeat and another step outside the top 25 rankings.
The contest starts at 7 p.m. Friday night at Thompson Field in Blacksburg.
— Compiled by Garrett Shaffer
Women’s Soccer
What: Virginia vs. North Carolina State
Where: Dail Soccer Field in Raleigh, N.C.
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
The Skinny:
The No. 5 Virginia women’s soccer team begins ACC play with a match against North Carolina State Friday night.
The Cavaliers (5-2-0) enter the game having already played against four current top-10 teams, with matchups against West Virginia, Wisconsin, UCLA and Penn State early on in the season.
Most recently, Virginia took on Penn State at home (4-2) and defeated the Nittany Lions with a score of 3-2.
Leading the Cavaliers’ offense is sophomore forward Taylor Ziemer, who has two goals and two assists so far this season.
NC State (6-1-0) enters the match with a three-game winning streak and is led on offense by sophomore midfielder Tziarra King, who has already picked up six goals and four assists this season.
When the two teams met last year, the Cavaliers came away from the matchup with a 3-1 win. King scored the lone goal for the Wolfpack, while Ziemer had two goals for the Cavaliers.
Kick-off for the ACC opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday. Following the match against NC State, Virginia will stay on the road for a game against East Carolina Sunday. The Cavaliers will be back in Klöckner Stadium next Thursday for a match against Miami.
— Compiled by Emma D’Arpino
Volleyball
What: Virginia vs. UCF
Where: The Venue at UCF in Orlando, Fla.
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
After enduring a difficult weekend in the Jefferson Cup tournament, Virginia (4-5) will look to find a solid rhythm on both offense and defense as it travels to Orlando, Fla. to compete in its final non-conference tournament against the UCF Knights (5-5).
Virginia has gone 1-2 for the past two weekend tournaments and will need to capitalize on early successes within sets if they hope to have a fighting chance against two elite teams with a proven track record of success.
In their most recent win against the Ohio Bobcats, the Cavaliers secured a decisive 3-0 victory by utilizing all of their weapons on offense and defense. They also kept up the consistency of their servicing game, with sophomore defensive specialist Jane Horner accomplishing a team-record three aces.
Virginia will first face a UCF squad that, while inconsistent throughout much of their early season, is fresh off winning the Central Arkansas Classic last weekend as it toppled then-undefeated Central Arkansas and and swept Southern University. A key player and someone to watch in the upcoming tournament is freshman outside hitter Kristina Fisher, who was able to get past the defense with 21 kills.
Virginia will play UCF twice this weekend, starting Friday at 7 p.m.
— Compiled by John Garza
Women’s Golf
What: Mason Rudolph Championship
Where: Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
When: Friday-Sunday
The Skinny: The Virginia women’s golf team will begin the fall season this weekend when they compete in the Mason Rudolph Championship, a premier fall tournament that attracts many of the country’s top NCAA Division I teams.
The tournament has a very strong field of 15 teams this year, including four teams that finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships last spring — Arizona State, North Carolina, Northwestern and South Carolina.
The Cavaliers competed in the Mason Rudolph Championship last year, and finished in ninth place out of 15 teams. Virginia will look to improve upon that performance as they enter this year’s tournament with both more experience and new talent.
Virginia returns four of its top five golfers from last year, headlined by junior Anna Redding. Redding had the Cavalier’s best stroke average last season at 74.63 strokes per round, and is coming off a solid performance at the NCAA Regional Championship, where she competed as an individual and tied for 43rd out of 96 golfers.
Virginia also adds freshman Beth Lillie to this year’s team. Lillie was named to Golfweek’s list of top 25 players for the class of 2017, and will look to make an immediate impact this year for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers will look to start their season off strongly in what will be a good early season test.
Virginia is scheduled to tee off Friday at 9:05 a.m.
— Compiled by Jack Gallagher
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