Closing out their home campaign, No. 4 Virginia field hockey celebrated its eight seniors Sunday at the last home game of the season against Miami (Ohio). The Cavaliers (12-2, 5-1 ACC) previously bounced back from a loss at home last week with a gritty shootout win against No. 11 Syracuse, and continued their momentum towards a deep postseason run. Virginia held the RedHawks (8-7, 5-1 Mid-American) scoreless throughout the match to earn a hard fought 1-0 win.
“It was a gritty win and we got the job done,” sophomore midfielder Mia Abello said. “I think we dominated, we just need to finish a bit more. [The] team came out fired up, ready to play and celebrate our seniors, and just do it for each other.”
The Cavaliers started strong, shutting down any offensive pushes in the beginning of the game. They got their first shot off about two minutes into the game, before going on the defensive against the RedHawks.
Virginia found the shooting circle again in the eighth minute for their first corner of the game, which was blocked by Miami junior goalkeeper Nicky Sjouken. The Cavaliers maintained possession for a few more minutes thanks to free hits before the RedHawks went back on the offensive with neither push resulting in a score.
Another corner, earned with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, was unsuccessful after resulting in two shots — the second of which bounced off the left quarter of the goalpost. With the missed corner shot, the first period ended scoreless. So far this season, Virginia has only scored four goals in the first quarter, something that has haunted the Cavaliers in close matches such as Friday’s Syracuse matchup.
Virginia started the second quarter on the defense, before earning two back-to-back corners. With both shots knocked away by Sjouken, it looked like a golden opportunity to score had slipped away from Virginia. However, after a reviewed penalty, Abello earned a penalty shot with 8:40 left in the second quarter, finding the net for the first point of the day. Abello’s score gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead — which would mark the only goal of the afternoon.
Abello has had a massive weekend, scoring the winning goal against Syracuse and the only goal against Miami. Her point was the 10th time that Virginia has scored first this season. In all of those games, the Cavaliers have come out victorious.
For a minute, after a free pass from senior back Jans Croon, it looked like the Cavaliers were back in scoring position before the end of the second quarter, but they were unable to close it out, resulting in a 1-0 score at halftime. Although the score was low, Virginia had eight shots to Miami’s zero, absolutely dominating the field.
After coming out of the locker room, Virginia earned a corner five minutes into the second half but could not tack on the insurance goal. Although the Cavaliers had a few good looks through the rest of the second quarter, they were unable to put together a successful offensive drive. Even with a massive 16-0 lead in shots, Virginia’s lead was still just by a margin of a single goal.
The RedHawks had a few opportunities to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but they were ultimately unable to break through the stingy Cavalier defense. As time expired, Virginia ended the day with a 1-0 win. The triumph puts the Cavaliers on a two-game win streak that will surely boost their confidence as they head into their toughest match yet Friday against No. 1 North Carolina.
“We’re going to be tested, we’re going to have to work hard. It’s not going to be easy but we have to do the hard discipline stuff in order to find the ball in the back of the net,” Abello said.
This season, Virginia has played confidently through the third and fourth quarters of games. However, if they are to take down some of the nation’s top teams heading into the postseason, the Cavaliers must play more confidently in the first half of games to avoid “must win” situations in the back stretch. Against the likes of the Tar Heels both next week and potentially in the postseason, leaving points on the field is a recipe for disaster.
“We have to be more clinical in front of the goal, and we have to execute better in those moments and have that instinct to finish opponents a bit earlier, rather than grinding it out at the end,” Coach Ole Keusgen said.
The Cavaliers beat the Tar Heels at home last season but suffered a loss in the ACC Championship. Virginia has had a marquee season this year, and a win against the Tar Heels would be huge in foreshadowing potential postseason success.
“We’ll drive there with an aggressive mentality and see if we can upset them,” Keusgen said. “They’re certainly a top team and probably the best team right now, but we want to win it.”
The matchup against North Carolina starts at 5 p.m. and will be streamed on ACCNX.
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