The Virginia field hockey team defeated in-state opponent Radford University (3-9) last night, 4-0, and moved to 19-0 all-time against the Highlanders.
The victory snaps a five-game losing streak for the No. 19 Cavaliers (6-6, 0-1 ACC) and kicks off a five game home stand.
Virginia earned the victory behind a two-goal effort by sophomore Katie Phillips and a shutout by junior goalie Logan Carr.
The Radford Highlanders put up little opposition to the Cavaliers, who capitalized on an early corner and never let up en route to their second shutout of the season.
Seven minutes into the game senior Katie Jo Gerfen knocked in a corner to put Virginia on the board. Gerfen's goal set the tone shortly into the game and Virginia did not back off in intensity for the remainder of the match.
"We talked about it before the game, trying to put together a strong 70 minutes," coach Jessica Wilk said. "We've had lapses the past few games and we have been working to eliminate those."
The most prevalent lapse came during the match against Old Dominion, in which the team allowed three goals in just over a minute and a half.There was no such lapse in this game as the Cavaliers displayed a tight defense for the entire game.
Carr, who tallied a total of 25 saves in her previous two matches, added five more against Radford.Although her elevated play has been a focal point for the Cavaliers' recent turnaround, the team defense as a whole has stepped up.
"It starts with defense," Carr said."We play defense as a team and it has really started to come together the past couple of games."
It was the Cavaliers' impenetrable defense that lead to a quick counter attack by Virginia and led to the team's first goal.
An early goal has been difficult to come by this season for the Cavaliers, who have been forced played catch-up for most of their losses.
"We knew we had to get started fast," Phillips said."It has been a problem for us to get on the board early this year."
Virginia proceeded to score on three of their six corners producing a much more efficient offense than in previous games.
"We've done a lot in practice to work on corners," Phillips said. "I was impressed at how the practice paid off with our efficiency around the goal."
Both Phillips and sophomore Allison Flynn put in goals off of corners later in the match.
The only goal not to come off of a corner was a lob by Phillips over the head of the Radford goalie in the first half.
The victory was a relief to the Cavaliers as they look to use it to build confidence and gain momentum going into the final month of their season.
"We just really needed a win and to prove to ourselves and everybody that we are a great team," Carr said. "Our job today was to get a win and build upon the game."
Radford offered the opportunity to work out some of the team's problem areas with less than a month until the ACC tournament.
The team's ability to capitalize on its opportunities and play with the same intensity for the entire game shows an accumulation of experience and adjustments
Their inability to finish goals and lapses in intensity plagued Virginia over their five game losing skid.
The Cavaliers' next contests come tomorrow against Quinnipiac, followed by Sunday's match with conference rival No. 2 North Carolina. Both matches are at home.
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