Virginia field hockey took on Stanford — a new conference foe — on familiar playing ground Sunday, returning home for the second game of their ACC opening weekend. The undefeated Cavaliers (7-0, 2-0 ACC) largely dominated play against the Cardinals (5-3, 0-2 ACC) to come out on top in a 5-1 victory.
Although Virginia grabbed control of the ball first, the two teams battled for control early on in the first quarter. However, the Cavaliers were able to strike first when senior back Jans Croon took a shot up the middle off a corner seven minutes into the first quarter, putting Virginia up 1-0.
The Cavaliers had another chance for a goal late in the first quarter when graduate midfielder Suze Leemans ran the ball down the left side that was battled over and recovered by the Cavaliers. However, the shot taken by graduate midfielder Meghen Hengerer missed to the left, leaving Virginia unable to add on to their lead.
The second quarter started out similarly, with a few opportunities for shots by the Cavaliers being missed. Senior striker Taryn Tkachuk had a major opportunity with a penalty shot early on in the quarter, but it was blocked by junior goalkeeper Daisy Ford for the Cardinal.
Virginia found the net again though, when senior midfielder Noa Boterman hit straight down the back of the net from just inside of the circle with just over eight minutes left in the second quarter. This was Boterman’s first goal of the season and created a 2-0 lead.
Although the rest of the quarter was heavily under Virginia’s control, the Cavaliers struggled with getting quality shots off. Another attempt by Tkachuk went wide left and out of bounds with seven minutes left, and although the Cavaliers outshot the Cardinals 6-0 through the first half, the score remained 2-0 through halftime.
While the Stanford offense was largely kept at bay through the first half, they capitalized off a corner to open the third quarter. Fifth-year forward Alayna Burns sent a shot straight down the middle of the net only 22 seconds into the third quarter, halving Virginia’s lead to 2-1.
While Stanford did not have many other major offensive opportunities through the third quarter, the Cavaliers struggled to capitalize on theirs, keeping the score close. A pass arched towards the goal by Boterman was sent right and out of bounds, and another scoring opportunity with 11 minutes left in the third quarter bounced right off of Ford.
Despite the scoring struggles, Virginia dominated possession through the third quarter. The Cavaliers took five shots to Stanford’s two — but all five attempts were frustratingly shut down, with nothing coming from their offensive efforts.
However, where offensive power lacked in the third quarter, Virginia found its confidence and power in the final quarter. With the game still stuck at 2-1, three Cavaliers found the net to blow the game open. Just over a minute and a half into the final quarter, graduate midfielder Suze Leemans fired a shot off a corner from Boterman.
Towards the end of the match, Boterman found the goal once again off a corner — putting the ball in the back of the net with just under two minutes left. With the game already clinched, a pass from Leemans on the right side was bounced in by sophomore striker Emma Watchilla, showing evidence that the team had found its groove offensively.
“The team responded great, and we just kept going and going for another goal,” Boterman said. “It was a great team effort.”
Closing out their first weekend of ACC play, the Cavaliers remain undefeated. As they begin to take on more highly-ranked opponents, it is imperative that the team not get complacent with their play. It was evident Sunday that although the squad had opportunities to open up the game even more, they failed to capitalize on them, creating a close game through three quarters that should have been more open.
“We had 18 shots, and it was 2-1 for way too long, so we need to capitalize on clear opportunities better,” Coach Ole Keugsen said .
However, being undefeated this far into the season is no small feat, and is evidence of the way that Keugsen has emphasized competition over complacency to his squad throughout the season.
Virginia will next take on No. 5 Duke Friday for a highly ranked conference showdown at home. Last season, the Cavaliers went 1-1 against the Blue Devils and will be looking for a more convincing victory against their ACC foe. The game will begin at 4 p.m and will be livestreamed on ACCNX.
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