Enthusiasm was oozing from the Virginia field hockey team last night at University Hall Turf Field. The players were vocal and focused during their warm-up session, and they bounced up and down on their toes during the national anthem -- they were the portrait of a team ready to snag a victory from in-state rival Virginia Commonwealth to rebound from a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 1 Maryland. The No. 18 Cavaliers (7-5) did succeed in their task, bringing down the Rams (4-7) by a score of 2-1.
The win did not come easily, however, as Virginia needed two second-half goals to come out with the victory, after falling down 1-0 with less than 30 minutes to go in the game. Freshman midfielder Allie Flynn connected on the tying tally, and senior midfielder Rosemary Walker blasted in the winning cage-ringer with less than two minutes remaining.
The Cavaliers were plagued by inconsistent first-half play and were out-hustled by a scrappy VCU team throughout the match. Virginia was able to ignite its play when it really mattered, however, and managed to salvage the win.
"Our play was very sloppy," Walker said. "We let them win each and every 50-50 ball in the first half. When our backs were against the wall and we knew we were under pressure to score, we were able to step up our play, but I wouldn't call it playing well."
The underdog Rams were surprisingly the better squad on the field during the first half, which ended with the teams deadlocked in a scoreless tie. VCU's aggressive defense was able to pressure the Cavaliers into turnovers in their own end.
Only the solid performance of junior Virginia goalkeeper Emily White kept the Rams from lighting up the scoreboard. White was able to make countless challenging saves, including a sprawling stop on a point-blank VCU attempt with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The Cavaliers still were unable to convert their chances early in the second half, and Ram forward Jackie Martin recorded the first goal of the night just over five minutes into the second half.
A stunned Cavalier team looked to reverse the momentum as quickly as possible. Ten minutes later, Virginia mustered a technically superb drive upfield. After half a dozen cleanly executed passes steadily moving the ball into VCU territory, senior forward Katie Nicholson found Flynn open on the left-hand side of the field. The freshman then drove a shot past the keeper to even the score at one apiece.
Flynn, who started for the first time in her collegiate career, has been the strongest weapon for the Cavaliers lately, dropping in four goals in the past three games. She expressed full confidence in her team to add another one to the win column, even after they fell behind the underdog Rams.
"We tended to be a second half team this season, so I knew we would come back," Flynn said
The score remained tied throughout most of the second half. A frantic Virginia team crossed into VCU territory with about two and a half minutes remaining. The ball eventually made its way to a wide-open Walker at the top of the circle. Without hesitation, the senior drilled a shot into the back of the cage to put Virginia up for good.
Yesterday's win comes off the heels of a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 1 Maryland. That defeat dropped the Cavaliers to 0-2 in ACC play. Next up for Virginia is a Sunday home game against a North Carolina team that defeated the Cavaliers earlier this season.
With NCAA tournament qualification in doubt at this point, Sunday's match is as much of a must-win games as the Cavaliers have had all season. Only a sound performance throughout the game will save a Virginia team that has shined brilliantly at some times and faltered during others.
"There are things we can do to compete," Virginia Coach Jessica Wilk said. "We need to do those things for the full 70 minutes if we want to win against a top team like Carolina."
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