Field hockey is a team sport, and never is this more apparent than after a particularly humiliating loss. When a team loses 11-0 -- as No. 18 Virginia (5-4) did yesterday to No. 4 Old Dominion (9-2) -- it is impossible to point to an individual player or play as the sole reason for the beating. The loss belongs to everyone and to no one at the same moment.
The Cavaliers traveled to Old Dominion yesterday fresh off a 3-2 upset of No. 14 Berkeley on Friday. But less than 10 minutes into the game, the Monarchs scored the first of 11 goals on the day, never looking back and leaving Virginia in their dust.
By halftime Old Dominion had stretched its lead to 2-0, but the high-octane Monarchs did not kick into gear until the beginning of the second half.
Within the first five minutes after intermission, Old Dominion had doubled its lead to 4-0. A few minutes after their fourth goal, the Monarchs increased the lead to five, effectively ending the game.
Then, in a 7-minute span that began with 15 minutes remaining in the match, ODU scored a flurry of five goals. The Monarchs tacked on their final goal late in the match, making the final tally 11-0.
"Our game plan was just to play hard, play with emotion, play as a team," Old Dominion freshman forward Rosalinda Banuelos said.
The Monarchs controlled virtually every facet of the match. Virginia rarely advanced the ball past midfield, generating almost no offensive attack for the game.
"We didn't control the things that we could today," Virginia Coach Jessica Wilk said. "We have to learn to do that every time we step out on the field. We can't control our opponent. We need to learn to be disciplined for 70 minutes and stick to a game plan."
For the game, Virginia did not attempt a single shot on goal and only managed one corner opportunity. On Virginia's one corner attempt, Monarch midfielder Lotte Bant intercepted Kelli Hill's hit and cleared the ball quickly to the ODU side of the field.
By contrast, Old Dominion took 23 shots on goal -- 15 in the second half -- and gained 12 penalty corners. The Monarchs also took two penalty strokes against the Cavaliers, scoring on both attempts.
In total, six players scored goals and seven scored points. Leading the way with two goals and three assists was junior forward Angie Loy, who also has notched the most assists and points for the Monarchs this season. Bant, midfielder Tiffany Snow and midfielder Melissa Leonetti also scored multiple times in the match.
"They're very fundamentally sound," Wilk said. "Their skills are very, very sharp. They're very low, they're very strong, and they're very disciplined. All those things are things we want out of our team. They do those things quite well."
The Cavaliers must now regroup before taking on Radford at home this Wednesday.
"We've got to maintain focus 70 minutes of the game," junior goalie Emily White said. "Individual, small things make a difference."
"This wasn't our best game ever, but we can build from this," she added. "We have it in us to build from this."
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