The Cavaliers and Seawolves square off in NCAA Quarterfinal Round
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (15-1) enter the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship as the nation’s top-ranked team in both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media and USILA coaches polls. UVa travels to face the eighth-seeded Stony Brook Seawolves (13-3) on Sunday afternoon, inside LaValle Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. Live stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
The game will also be broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA 1070 AM with John Freeman calling the action and Doug Tarring doing the color broadcast. The contest will be televised live in HD on ESPNU with Eamon McAnaney doing the play-by-play, while Quint Kessenich and Matt Ward serve as color analysts, with Bob Holtzman patrolling the sidelines.
This is Virginia’s 33rd tournament appearance overall, second behind Johns Hopkins (39). Virginia won the national championship four years ago and has received a bid in 17 of the last 18 seasons. UVa is also making its 29th overall appearance in the quarterfinal round and 15th appearance in head coach Dom Starsia’s 18th season at the helm.
Virginia advanced to the quarterfinals on May 15 when the Cavaliers received hat tricks from Shamel Bratton, Chris Bocklet and Brian Carroll, while Steele Stanwick dished out five assists in UVa’s 18-4 victory over Mount St. Mary’s in the first round.
The Seawolves, ranked No. 7 in the media and No. 8 in the coaches poll, were awarded the automatic bid after winning the America East championship with an 11-7 triumph over Albany in the league’s championship game for Stony Brook’s second all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2002. Stony Brook, the eighth seed in the NCAA Championship, advanced to the program’s first quarterfinals with a 9-7 victory over Denver on May 15.
Sunday’s contest with Stony Brook is the eighth all-time meeting and second of the season. Virginia holds a 7-0 advantage in the all-time series, including a 13-8 triumph behind three goals apiece from Bocklet and Stanwick on Feb. 27 in Charlottesville, a game that was played on the University Hall Turf Field because of heavy snow in the Central Virginia region during February.
The winner of this game faces the winner of Saturday’s Duke at North Carolina game in the semifinals at M&T Stadium in Baltimore on Sunday (May 29). The semifinals will be televised on ESPN2 in HD.
Bocklet leads Virginia with 46 goals, while Stanwick holds the team lead with 28 assists and is second on the team with 25 goals. Bocklet leads the squad with 58 points. Rhamel Bratton and Carroll are third on the team with 22 goals. Shamel Bratton is next with 20 scores and 17 assists, while freshman Matt White rounds out the top scorers with 19 goals. White’s had scored at least one point in every game of his young career before being shut out against Mount. St. Mary’s. Chris LaPierre has 49 ground balls, followed closely by Ken Clausen and his 46 ground balls. Ghitelman is saving 56.0 percent of the shots against him, while posting a 7.79 goals-against average to go with a team-best 55 ground balls.
Head coach Rick Sowell is in his fourth season at the helm of Stony Brook and led the Seawolves to a program-best 13 wins this season. The Seawolves won the America East title for the second time in program history and first since 2002. The Seawolves lost to Cornell in Stony Brook’s previous NCAA appearance in 2002.
Tewaaraton finalist Kevin Crowley leads the potent Stony Brook offense with 49 goals and 25 assists for a team-best 74 points. Jordan McBride has 48 goals and seven assists, while Tom Compitello has dished out a team-high 35 assists to go with 36 goals. Steven Waldeck has picked up a team-best 104 ground balls, while Charlie Paar is saving 56.5 percent of shots in between the pipes to go with a 9.81 goals against average.
-Official UVA Sid Release
No. 4 Virginia Heads to No. 3 North Carolina for NCAA Quarterfinal Match-Up
Cavaliers face Tar Heels Saturday at 1 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sixth-seeded and fourth-ranked Virginia will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face third-seeded and third-ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Opening draw from Fetzer Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. Live audio (V Pass) and live statistics can be accessed at VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia (14-5) is making its first NCAA quarterfinal appearance since playing for the national championship in the 2007 title game. Under Julie Myers, the Cavaliers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of her 15 years as head coach and her squads hold an overall record of 23-13 in the tournament. Virginia has advanced past the first round of tournament play 10 of the last 15 seasons and has claimed three NCAA Titles in the history of the program – 1991, 1993 and 2004.
Senior All-Americans Kaitlin Duff and Brittany Kalkstein lead the Cavaliers this season. The duo shares the team lead in goals, with 39 each, while Duff is tops in assists (23), points (62), ground balls (41) and caused turnovers (29). Kalkstein, one of five 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy finalists, has won a team-best 92 draw controls this year, ranking fifth nationally with a 4.84 draws per game average. Kalkstein is second on the team in assists (21), points (60), ground balls (40) and caused turnovers (28).
In goal, redshirt junior Lauren Benner has posted the nation’s 13th-best goals-against average mark, allowing 8.78 goals per game. She is also 24th nationally in save percentage, stopping 46.9 percent of shots faced.
North Carolina (16-2) has won 10 of its last 11 contests and holds an unblemished 9-0 record at home this season. All-ACC attacker Corey Donohoe and Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Jenn Russell lead the Tar Heels. Donohoe has 49 goals and 20 assists this year and finds herself in the ACC’s top three in goals and points per game. Russell anchors the midfield, as she has 30 goals and nine assists to go with 31 ground balls, 22 draw controls and 17 caused turnovers.
In goal, Logan Ripley leads the nation with a 6.69 goals-against average. She is also second in the ACC with a .518 save percentage.
In the all-time series between the two programs, Virginia holds an overall record of 12-11. The Cavaliers took the slight lead in the series with a 13-12 overtime win over the Tar Heels in Charlottesville earlier this season.
North Carolina holds the NCAA tournament series advantage, though, winning three of the four match-ups. The Tar Heels have also posted a 6-3 record over the Cavaliers when playing in Chapel Hill.
The winner of Saturday’s contest will advance to the semifinal round to face the winner of seventh-seeded Duke at second-seeded Northwestern. The semifinals and finals will be played at Towson University on May 28-31.
-UVA Official SID Release
