Clemson women's soccer takes Virginia swing

CLEMSON — The Clemson women’s soccer team will make a trip through the state of Virginia this week for two ACC road matches. The Tigers will face Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7:00 PM in Blacksburg and then will travel to Charlottesville to take on eighth-ranked Virginia on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

The Tigers are in the midst of a stretch of seven games in which six of the team’s seven opponents have been ranked 11th or better in the nation. Most recently, Clemson suffered a 2-0 defeat to 10th-ranked North Carolina by a score of 2-0 on the road in Chapel Hill. All 11 starters played the entire 90 minutes in the loss to the Tar Heels, which dropped the Tigers’ record to 5-8 overall (0-6 ACC).

Junior forward Maddy Elder leads the Tigers in scoring with 17 points (six goals, five assists) on the season. Freshman forward Liska Dobberstein ranks second on the team with 16 points (six goals, four assists). Sophomore Lauren Arnold has played 858 minutes in goal for the Tigers, posting 22 saves and giving up 14 goals so far in 2011. Sophomore keeper Morgan Hert has registered 17 saves and given up 12 goals in 342 minutes in goal for Clemson.

The Hokies have a 9-4-1 overall record and a 1-3-1 mark in ACC play after earning their first conference win of the season by a score of 2-1 over Miami in Blacksburg last week. Kelly Conheeney leads Virginia Tech in scoring with nine goals and two assists for 20 points. Dayle Colpitts has 36 saves and has given up six goals in 800 minutes of play, and Anna Romeiser has 14 saves and has given up seven goals in 495 minutes in goal for the Hokies.

The series between Clemson and Virginia Tech is tied at 2-2-3, however the Hokies have won the last two meetings. The last time the two teams met in Blacksburg was on September 24, 2009, when Virginia Tech defeated the Tigers by a score of 2-1 in overtime.

The eighth-ranked Cavaliers are 9-3-2 overall (3-2-1 ACC) following a 4-3 overtime victory over Florida State in Charlottesville last week. Virginia is led in scoring by Caroline Miller, who has 12 goals and three assists for 27 points on the season. Chantel Jones has played all 1,317 minutes in goal for the Cavaliers so far in 2011, posting 25 saves and giving up 14 goals on the year.

The series is also even, at 10-10-1, between the Tigers and the Cavaliers. Virginia has won three games in a row against the Tigers, including a 3-0 victory on September 27, 2009 in Charlottesville, when the Cavaliers were ranked 14th in the nation.