No. 1 Virginia hosts No. 18 Lehigh

The No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers look to improve to 2-0 on the season as they host No. 18 Lehigh on Saturday at 1pm. Virginia started the 2020 campaign with a convincing 12-9 win over No. 14 Loyola. Redshirt first year Payton Cormier had a strong first game as a Hoo with three goals, and Matt Moore added three goals and two assists.

Lehigh (1-0) is coming off of a 16-11 win over Utah, but fell behind 5-3 in the second quarter before outscoring the Utes 13-6 to end the game. Virginia defeated Lehigh last season, 11-8, thanks to four goals from Michael Kraus. Last year’s matchup was the first between the two programs.

Matchups to Watch

Alex Rode vs. Tommy Schelling - Virginia goalkeeper Alex Rode earned the ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors after notching 19 saves, six ground balls, and two caused turnovers in the Hoos’ season opening victory over Loyola. He’s going to face a red-hot Schelling, coming off a seven goal, two assist performance against the Utes.

Virginia Offense vs. the Second Half - Virginia scored nine goals in the first half against Loyola, but stalled in the third quarter (two goals) and fourth quarter (one goal). Loyola employed a zone, slowing the Virginia attack until Dox Aitken capitalized with a shot from outside. While getting off to fast starts is great, the Cavaliers have to learn how to play with a lead this season (as opposed to mounting big comebacks like last year).

Virginia vs. the Penalty Box - The Cavaliers spent a grand total of seven minutes in the penalty box against the Greyhounds, leading to three goals for Loyola. Lehigh had seven extra man opportunities in their season opener, and converted five times. Virginia cannot afford to hand the Mountain Hawks extra opportunities. Ian Laviano, Aitken, and Kyle Kology were the biggest offenders, each spending two minutes in the box.

Players to Watch

Conor Gaffney (FO, Lehigh) - Gaffney, a senior, went 17-for-26 (65%) at the face off X in the Mountain Hawks’ season opening win. In last season’s game, Gaffney went 15-for-23 (65%) against a combo of Justin Schwenk and Petey LaSalla, though the latter took just four face offs. LaSalla went 10-for-20 in week one against Loyola.

Michael Kraus (A, Virginia) - If Kraus notches one assist, he’ll become the fourth Virginia player with 100 career goals and 100 career assists. Only Kevin Pehlke (1990-93), Danny Glading (2006-09), and Steele Stanwick (2009-12) have hit that mark for the Hoos, and Kraus would be the 10th player in ACC history in the century-century club.

He currently has 117 career goals and 99 career assists.

How to Watch

Time: 1pm
Streaming: ACCNX