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FALL 2024 11 cavalier sports 1 Game-winning goal and assist apiece for UVA women's soccer second-year midfielder YUNA MCCORMACK for the U.S. U20 Women's National Team during its run to the bronze medal in the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup this September in Bogotá, Colombia. The bronze medal is the best finish for the U.S. side since 2012 when the United States won the U20 Women's World Cup. A boost off the bench, McCormack saw time in every match of the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup. She assisted on the game-winning goal — connecting with Florida State's Jordynn Dudley — in extra time against Mexico to send the U.S. to the quarterfinals. She tallied the game-winning goal against Morocco in group play and also added a goal in the U.S. victory over Paraguay in the group stages. Madison Alaimo • Lacrosse The second-year attacker from Wantagh, N.Y., helped the U.S. Junior National Team win the gold medal in dominant fash- ion at the 2024 World Lacrosse Women's U20 Championship during August in Hong Kong. Team USA outscored its opponents 211-20 while winning all seven games in the tournament, capped by a 23-6 triumph over Can- ada in the gold medal game. Alaimo set the event record for most assists with 25 in the tournament, breaking Caitlyn Wurz- burger's record of 19 set in 2019. She ranked third among all players in points with 43, scoring 18 goals in addition to her 25 assists. Will Bettridge • Football The third-year kicker from Miami was one of 19 players named to the watch list for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, which is the premier award for community service among Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes. An active member in the Charlottesville commu- nity, Bettridge has volunteered with numerous local elementary schools, and he has also dedicated time to visiting the UVA Children's Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. In 2023, he attended the Unity Walk, held in Charlottesville and organized by UVA athletics. He currently serves as a representa- tive for UVA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on behalf of the football team. In the classroom, he is a two-time All-ACC Academic Team recipient, having garnered back-to-back honors in 2022 and 2023. Nick Dang • Soccer The third-year defender from Brentwood, Tenn., started his Virginia career in style with 3 goals in his first four games as a Cavalier. That matched his ca- reer high set at Lipscomb, which he attended prior to transferring to UVA in 2023. In the season opener against Rider, he played 87 minutes as a center back, helping Virginia keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. With a thunder- ous header in the 84th minute, he scored his first goal as a Cavalier, becoming the first UVA player to find the back of the net in his debut since Danny Mangarov on Aug. 29, 2022. HOO'S HOT Recognizing the "Who's Hoo" in UVA athletics — Cavalier student-athletes, past, present and future who are making news around the world of sports. Photo courtesy UVA " I think that when you look over the last two-and-a-half years, and I say this very humbly, I don't know if there's a college football program that has been challenged more than the University of Virginia. I think that has helped us to define what our character is and lay that foundation that I believe is going to allow us to build for the future. "Did I want it to happen necessarily the way that it's happened? No. But I understand everything happens for a reason. We were chosen for what we've been through at UVA. I believe that's allowed us to really lay the foundation the way it needed to be laid for the future. "I want these guys to experience the fruit of their labor and go out and win some football games. They've been working extremely hard. They've had some adversity that they've had to overcome that they didn't choose. They've persevered, they've chosen to stick with it. Let's go win some football games and see if we can earn ourselves the right to be in the postseason." — UVA football head coach Tony Elliott 4 -Year agreement between Virginia and Maryland to renew the two schools' historic men's college basketball rivalry. The Cavaliers will host the Terrapins in 2025-26 and 2027-28 in Charlottesville, and travel to College Park in 2026-27 and 2028-29. The Cavaliers and Terrapins will meet for the first time since Nov. 28, 2018, when UVA posted a 76-71 road win in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest. Maryland owns a 107-76 advantage in the series that dates to 1913, but the Cavaliers have won eight of the last nine meetings. Maryland joined the Big Ten Conference in July 2014 after competing in the ACC for 62 years. 384 Rushing yards for Virginia in its 43-24 victory at Coastal Carolina Sept. 21. It marked the first time UVA eclipsed the 300-yard rush- ing mark since 2018 versus Richmond and was its most rushing yards in a game since compiling 446 yards against San Jose State in 1998. Third-year running back Xavier Brown led the team with 171 yards on 9 rushing attempts (19.0 yards per carry). He became the first Cavalier to rush for 150 yards or more since quarterback Bryce Perkins (164 yards) did it against Virginia Tech in 2019 and the first UVA running back to do it since 2018 (Jordan Ellis vs. Ohio). Brown's 75-yard run is the longest by a UVA rusher since Ellis' 75-yard scamper against Louisville in 2018.