While starting a season off playing an away game might seem nerve-wracking to some, Virginia field hockey brought fire to their game in University Park, Pa. Friday versus Penn State. The Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) clearly came ready to fight and did just that as they came out on top over the Nittany Lions (0-1, 0-0 Big 10) in a 2-1 victory.
Virginia clearly knew that they wanted to come into this game — and therefore this season — showing their opponents just how strong they could be. Junior midfielder Sloan Davidson wasted no time getting the ball into the net, scoring the first goal of the season only four minutes into the first period. That goal was the first of Davidson’s career.
For the rest of the period, Virginia held both their offense and defense tight. They ensured that Penn State got nowhere close to senior goalkeeper Tyler Kennedy while also getting two more strong shots on goal before the first period was over.
The Cavaliers continued to bring their A game to the second period, seeming to play with the mentality of “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take” and therefore making sure to take a lot of them.
Within the first three minutes of the second period, Virginia had three shots on goal — including freshman midfielder Amelie Rees' first shot of her collegiate career, which narrowly missed off of the goal post.
Despite the immensely strong offensive attempts, Penn State's freshman goalkeeper Aby Deverka held the Cavaliers at bay, saving most of their direct shots, but Virginia kept pushing.
Coach Ole Keusgen’s new-look Cavaliers have been working on bringing power to their offense early, both in terms of the game as a whole and the singular periods. Two minutes into the third period, graduate midfielder Suze Leemans fired a beautiful shot — which was unfortunately saved by Deverka.
For 41 minutes, the game had been entirely dominated by Virginia. The Nittany Lions had not been able to get one solid shot on goal, let alone score. That is, until Penn State's senior forward Sophie Gladieux was substituted in. Seemingly ready to take back the game, it only took Gladieux a minute and a half to take a solid shot on goal, which Kennedy readily blocked.
However, Gladieux's shot sparked something inside the Nittany Lions. They quickly picked up the pace. After falling behind to Virginia for two and a half periods, they continued to push after Glaxieux's inaugural shot — which was then given to the Nittany Lions as a penalty corner.
Back and forth, Kennedy fought off two more shots on goal, each of which was then another penalty shot for Penn State, until finally on the third consecutive attempt Gladieux was able to take enough control to score, tying up the game 1-1 at the end of the third period.
Tensions were high as the two teams entered the fourth period — the Cavaliers had not faced much resistance until the moment Penn State scored, and the Nittany Lions were trying to play catch-up after their late offensive surge.
Both teams were aware of the fourth period stakes and brought more power than ever to their gameplay. Play began to get a little rough, with two green cards issued to Virginia players.
With just under three minutes left on the clock, most spectators began to wonder if the game would have to go into overtime. Right on cue, the Cavaliers’ junior midfielder Caroline Nemec scored a clutch goal, bringing the score up to 2-1 lead. It was Nemec’s first career goal, like Davidson's earlier.
With little time left, Penn State was unable to equalize. After Nemec's goal, Gladieux had one more shot on goal, which was swiftly blocked by Kennedy. The first game of the season, against one of their largest rivals, ended in a 2-1 victory for Virginia.
Full of strong play on both the offensive and defensive fronts, the Cavaliers' playing Friday demonstrated that Keugsen is implementing successful new strategies that will hopefully lead to more strong performances from Virginia this fall.
“At the end, we showed grit to finish the game,” Keusgen said. “Overall, it was a good start to the season.
The Cavaliers will hope to continue their good start to the season next week at home versus Temple, which will be streamed on ACC Network Friday at 5 p.m.
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