Cornell will be confronted with a difficult task this weekend as the schedule points south to Charlottesville, Va., for the field hockey team’s Fall Break destination. No. 3 Virginia, hailing from the formidable ACC, will host Cornell tomorrow at 1 p.m., for the first time since 2003.

Like the Red (8-1), the Cavaliers (11-1) were off to an undefeated start on the season until last weekend when No. 1 Maryland snapped their win-streak with a 3-1 decision.

Virginia stands at No. 8 in the country for scoring and has found the back of the net 40 times, while allowing just 10 goals this fall. Team leader Paige Selenski has the 18th most goals in the nation with 13 and teammate Tara Puffenberger is next in line on Virginia’s attack with eight. The Cavaliers’ starting goalkeeper Kim Kastuk is currently performing at No. 13 in the country with a save percentage of .788 and No. 5 for goals-against with an average of 0.65. Don’t be intimidated: After rebounding from its first and only loss of the season earlier this week, the Red heads to Charlottesville to take on ACC powerhouse Virginia in a non-conference matchup.

“Virginia is different from any other team we faced this season because they are ranked,” said junior back Sara Sanders. “We are definitely going to try to play up to them. It will be a good test for our team.”

In the past, the Red has been matched up against the Cavaliers only twice. During its 2002 campaign, Cornell took Virginia into double overtime before emerging victorious with a 2-1 win. The following year, however, the Red stumbled before the Cavaliers and was shutout of their second-ever meeting, 4-0. With the series even at one game apiece, Saturday’s contest will serve as the rubber-match.

“This is a great opportunity,” Sanders said. “We are looking forward to a competitive game and we are ready to take on the challenge with a positive attitude.”

Because Cornell welcomed Colgate for a mid-week game on Tuesday, the Red has had little time in between competitions to direct its focus toward its rendezvous with the mid-Atlantic powerhouse. The Red dominated the Raiders, 2-1, this week on Marsha Dodson Field (the relatively close score masked the fact that Cornell out-shot its opponent, 27-6). While the Red will head into tomorrow’s game with confidence, having regained composure after its first and only loss of the season last Saturday, it will take everything the 18-player squad has to upset a top program like Virginia.

“We had a good practice yesterday, during which we focused on building on our strengths and working together as a team,” said Sanders, “It was our only practice in Ithaca to prepare for the game other than watching film on Wednesday. In terms of scouting, we realize that Virginia is a solid team, but we didn’t pick out any one player in particular [to watch out for].”

Tonight, the Red will have another chance to loosen up and stay sharp before the big showdown on the Cavaliers’ University Hall Turf Field.

“We always try to concentrate on one game at a time, but we see this weekend as being good preparation for when we face Princeton,” said Sanders.