WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The MAAC Champion Monmouth University women's soccer team takes on Virginia in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. Friday at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, VA.

The Matchup
No. 11 Virginia (15-4-0) vs. Monmouth (16-3-1)
Friday, November 9, 2019 | 7 p.m. | Klöckner Stadium | Charlottesville, VA
Live Stats | ACC Network Extra | Tournament Bracket

Tickets
Fans can order tickets for the tournament online at VirginiaSports.com and by phone through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets are also available at the gate beginning one hour prior to the start of play. Tickets purchased at the gate are $10 for reserved seats, $8 for general admission and $5 for students of participating schools with valid student ID.

Parking
Free parking will be available on a first come, first served basis in the UHall and McCue Parking lots. Additional free public parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage.

Tickets Punched
Monmouth, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions, earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Siena, 7-1, and Niagara, 3-0, in MAAC Tournament. The Hawks earned the top seed in the MAAC Tournament after going 9-1-0 during the conference regular season.

The Cavaliers, ranked No. 11 in the nation, earned an at-large berth and are making their 31st NCAA Tournament appearance and 25^th consecutive. Last season, Virginia advanced to the Round of 16 for the 13th consecutive season when they lost to NCAA runner-up, UCLA.

Scouting Virginia
The Cavaliers had five players receive All-ACC honors, led by Phoebe McClernon's second team honors. Alexa Spaanstra and Taryn Torres collected third-team honors, and Spaanstra and Rebecca Jarrett also earned All-Freshman accolades.

One of the top scoring offenses in the nation, UVA is tied for fifth nationally at 2.58 goals per game and is tied for sixth in total goals (49), the same total as Monmouth. The two teams share common opponents in Bucknell and NC State. Both teams defeated Bucknell 1-0 on their home turf, while Monmouth fell in double OT at NC State and Virginia knocked off the Wolfpack 2-1 at home.

Monmouth Notes
Monmouth returns to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and makes its sixth appearance overall. Last year, Monmouth fell 4-0 at Princeton and two seasons ago, the Hawks scored their first NCAA Tournament goal in a 4-1 loss at Virginia. Previously, the Hawks played at Penn State (L, 3-0) in 2013 and also faced the Nittany Lions in 2007, a 4-0 loss in State College, Pa., prior to a 4-0 setback at Maryland in 2009.

Monmouth won its eighth conference tournament title overall (NEC - 1995, 1996, 2007, 2009) and fourth as a member of the MAAC (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018). The Hawks became the first team to win three straight MAAC Championships since Loyola Maryland from 2002-2004.

Monmouth has won 11 consecutive games heading into the NCAA Tournament. The 11-game winning streak is tied for the second longest in the NCAA with Howard (11) and behind Saint Louis' 14-game stretch. Monmouth's 11-game winning streak is its longest since the program won 17 straight games spanning the 1994 and 1995 seasons. The Hawks have outscored their opponents 41-3 during the 11-match winning streak and have used the same starting lineup in every game.

Monmouth's 16 total wins are the most since 2013 when the team went 17-2-2.
Monmouth has won 37 straight matches when scoring the first goal.
Monmouth completed its MAAC regular season with a 9-1-0 record to capture the top seed with 27 points and its fifth straight MAAC Regular Season Championship. Monmouth has won nine MAAC games in five consecutive seasons.

Madie Gibson was named the 2018 MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player. Lexie Palladino, Dana Scheriff and Jesi Rossman were named to the MAAC All-Championship Team. Gibson earned her third All-Tournament team selection and Palladino adds her second All-Championship Team honor.
Monmouth had three MAAC major award winners as Madie Gibson was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Jessica Johnson was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year and Jill Conklin earned the Rookie of the Year award.

The trio of Gibson, Johnson and Conklin were three of Monmouth's program-record seven All-MAAC First Team selections and were joined by midfielders Alli DeLuca and Lexie Palladino, as well as defenders Anna Lazur and Sarina Jones. Goalkeeper Amanda Knaub was a second team All-MAAC honoree, while Conklin, A'Liah Moore and Jesi Rossman landed on the MAAC All-Rookie Team.

A Win Would …

- Be Monmouth's first NCAA Tournament win in program history.

- Be Monmouth's first over a ranked opponent since it beat #17 Rutgers on Aug. 29, 2010.

- Be Monmouth's second victory over a ranked team in program history.

- Send Monmouth to the NCAA Tournament second round.

- Give the Hawks 17 victories, their most since 2013 (17).

All-Time Series
The contest will be the second meeting all-time between the two teams after UVA defeated Monmouth 4-1 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Up Next
The winner of the game will move on to play the winner of Texas Tech versus Princeton.