The Virginia field hockey team's tough schedule again got the better of them yesterday afternoon at the University Hall Turf Field as the Cavaliers (5-4) fell to instate rival Old Dominion, 4-1.
The Lady Monarchs (6-4) scored three goals in a two-minute first-half flurry to send the Cavaliers to their third straight defeat.
Old Dominion's freshman forward Anna Rogers scored two goals to pace the Lady Monarchs, while the Cavaliers' sophomore midfielder Katie Phillips provided Virginia's lone tally.
Virginia started the game off hot with several scoring chances in the first five minutes. The Cavaliers failed to capitalize on their early advantage and the Lady Monarchs soon struck back, taking advantage of their superior team speed.
Old Dominion freshman forward Katie Claxton tapped in a short pass for the game's first tally with 16:03 remaining in the first half. Less than a minute later, Rogers added her first goal, a rebound off a penalty corner, to make the score 2-0.
The Cavaliers scarcely had time to recover before the Lady Monarchs struck again, with Rogers again beating the Virginia defense back for the Lady Monarchs' third goal.
Following the flurry, the Cavaliers seemed to regain their composure, mounting several late first-half attacks, culminating with a near-goal just before the first-half whistle.
The second half began with a back-and-forth battle, with both defenses settling down.
Virginia junior goalkeeper Logan Carr (six saves) made several diving stops to keep the Cavaliers in the game, but the offense was unable to break through a tenacious Old Dominion defense. The Cavaliers' offense was able to generate penalty corners, but came up empty on their first eight.
The second-half scoring drought was broken when Old Dominion scored again with slightly over 12 minutes remaining. Lady Monarchs sophomore back Janelle Engle tapped in a rebound after several saves by Cavaliers goalkeeper Carr, cementing Old Dominion's victory.
The Cavaliers did not give in, however. Their continued efforts finally paid off with five minutes left, when sophomore midfielder Katie Phillips blasted home Virginia's ninth penalty corner of the afternoon. The Cavaliers' offense put together several more rushes near the end, bringing their shot total to 11 for the game, but was unable to score again.
Virginia coach Jessica Wilk was not entirely unhappy with her team's effort, however.
"They fought hard," Wilk said. "We had a span of three to five minutes where we had a breakdown and that cost us the game, but I think we showed a lot of character today."
Phillips agreed with her coach's optimistic assessment.
"We played really aggressive today, especially towards the end," she said. "We were really hard on the ball, lots of defensive pressure, so I think we ended pretty well."
Despite the losing streak, Wilk remains optimistic about her team's potential. "Technically and tactically, today was one of the better games we've played," Wilk said. "So we're looking to build on that."
The Cavaliers look to rebound in their next match, a road game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against in-state rival William & Mary.
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