It was a familiar situation for the Virginia field hockey team, going 1-1 for the second weekend in a row to start the year. Despite the loss, the No. 5 Cavaliers (2-2, 0-0 ACC) played well in their contests.
Both games featured dominant Virginia offensive performances, yet finishing remained elusive. Against Rutgers, Virginia outshot the Scarlet Knights (2-2, 0-0 Big 10) 29-7, including a 15-6 edge in shots on goal. Yet despite the numerous offensive opportunities, it took an overtime period to finally win, with junior midfielder Tara Vittese scoring the game winner.
“I had no idea what was going to happen, we had a corner and I thought someone might be open for a pass so I decided to take it… and [senior striker] Caleigh [Foust] went out of the space, I drove into the circle and just kind of shot and hoped for the best and luckily it went in,” Vittese said.
The game Sunday against No. 14 Delaware (3-1, 0-0 CAA) had many similar strokes. Virginia outshot the Blue Hens 19-8, again with an advantage in shots on goal, 11-6. But the Blue Hens were able to finish their chances, going on to win 2-0.
“Well if I didn’t know the score I would have thought we won, but we were able to generate the attack we needed,” Madison said. “They were very good at shutting us down once we got to the goal.”
But stats alone do not show the whole picture. Even with the offensive firepower, mental mistakes crippled the Cavaliers.
“Just really disappointed to be honest,” Hyams said. “Our first touch wasn’t very good [and] our passing was off today. We had enough chances to go and score. Some pieces at the back we need to sort out, sloppy out of the back, definitely some things we need to work on.”
Despite the disappointing play, the team is still optimistic going forward. A talented roster mixed with a difficult schedule does not afford the Cavaliers the luxury to dwell on past games.
“It’s the start of the season,” Hyams said. “Sometimes it takes us a bit to get going. We still got to be positive, work on what we need to work on and move on to the next game.”
And the next game is a big one — away against rival Duke. The No. 4 Blue Devils (4-0, 0-0 ACC) have had a blistering start to the season, already scoring 16 goals and only conceding six.
“Big game on Friday, against Duke,” Hyams said. “We love playing Duke so were ready for that.”
The game will be at Duke on Friday at 6 p.m., and after the weekend of mixed results, Virginia expects nothing less than improvement.
“We just have to do what we’re doing and do it better,” Madison said.
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