The No. 4 Virginia field hockey team (15-3, 5-1 ACC) achieved a close 4-2 victory against the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs (8-9, 5-2 Big East) Sunday afternoon. This game helped the Cavaliers finish off their regular season with one of the best records in the program’s recent history and an ACC regular season title.
The Cavaliers’ four goals were scored by four different players, showing off the versatility that the Virginia offense has been working on for much of the season. The Cavaliers’ dominant first-half performance allowed them to outshoot the Lady Monarchs 15-2 and jump ahead 4-0. However, a second-half push by Old Dominion nearly brought the game back to a tie. Virginia’s defense held, though, and the Cavaliers pulled off an important victory.
This loss puts the Monarchs under .500, greatly hurting the chance of a postseason run and capping off an underwhelming season for such an illustrious program. Old Dominion still holds the record for NCAA championship wins, with nine, but has been unable to clench the national title for the past 16 seasons.
After a first-round bye, the Cavaliers will next return to Louisville on Friday for a rematch against either No. 13 Wake Forest (12-6, 3-3 ACC) or No. 6 North Carolina (13-4, 3-3 ACC) in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. The game will take place at Trager Stadium in Louisville at 12 p.m. and will be broadcast on the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks and on the ACC Network Extra.
This loss puts the Monarchs under .500, greatly hurting the chance of a postseason run, and capping off an underwhelming season for such an illustrious program. Old Dominion still holds the record for NCAA championship wins, with nine, but has been unable to clench the national title for the past 17 seasons.
The Cavaliers will next return to Louisville on Friday for a rematch against either No. 13 Wake Forest (12-6, 3-3 ACC) or No. 6 North Carolina (13-4, 3-3 ACC) in the first round of the ACC tournament. The game will take place at Trager Stadium in Louisville at 12 p.m. and will be broadcast on the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks and on the ACC Network Extra.