No. 8 field hockey narrowly failed to upset No. 2 Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal Sunday, suffering a 3-2 overtime loss. After fending off No. 6 Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday, the Cavaliers (14-5, 6-2 ACC) played aggressively on the defensive front, holding a ferocious Wildcats (20-1, 8-0 Big Ten) offense to three goals and thirteen shots. However, they were unable to shut them down in overtime. Virginia just did not have enough to secure the upset.
Going into the game, the Cavalier offense knew it had to do one thing — score. Although it has been able to win defensive games throughout the season, Virginia has struggled to find the back of the net, turning 232 shots into just 42 goals throughout the season. By contrast, the Wildcats have been a high-flying offensive force, especially through the first half, where they have outscored opponents 35-3. This matchup provided a unique challenge for a fearsome Virginia defense led by Senior back Jans Croon, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Led by Croon, the Cavalier defense allowed just one shot through the first nine minutes of the game. The second quarter saw more Northwestern dominance over the offensive front of the ball though. A beautiful pass from senior midfielder Maddie Zimmer across the pitch from the sideline earned the Wildcats a corner opportunity, but the Cavalier defense held strong. Graduate midfielder Suze Leemans forced the ball to pop up high off the body of Wildcat sophomore midfielder Ella Kokinis for a 10th straight corner defended by Virginia, a massive effort in shutting down a high-powered Northwestern offense.
Struggling to find an opportunity with under two minutes left in the first half, it just took one chance for Virginia to create a game-shifting opportunity. The Cavaliers found freshman midfielder Elaine Velthuizen’s foot just inside the Northwestern defensive circle with under 90 seconds left in the first half to earn their first corner of the game.
Not letting the chance to score go to waste, Virginia found the back of the net of of a brilliantly designed fake sweep from Croon who hurled the ball forward, where it was deflected past graduate goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz into the back of the net by Leemans to put the Cavaliers up 1-0 at halftime.
Eager to erase the slim lead held by the Cavaliers, Northwestern came out in the third quarter with something to prove. It found the net almost immediately to pull the score even when fifth-year midfielder Katie Jones found a hole in the Virginia defense leaving half the defensive circle wide open. She capitalized on the opportunity with a hit to freshman midfielder Elaine Velthuizen who squeaked the ball past Lempers to even the score at 1-1 just 89 seconds into the third quarter.
The Cavaliers found opportunities on offense just minutes later when a pass from junior midfielder Daniela Mendez-Trendler to senior striker Taryn Tkachuk came up the side with lots of space in front. That effort amounted to nothing though, and only minutes later, another offensive push was shut down and turned over after a shove to the back by graduate midfielder Lily Hengerer. These missed opportunities shut down crucial chances for Virginia to once again take the lead against a Northwestern offense that appeared to have finally found its groove against the Cavalier defense.
The Wildcats earned a major advantage with four minutes left to play in the third quarter when senior midfielder Noa Boterman was taken out with a green card for being too aggressive with sophomore forward Ashley Sessa while heading down the stretch. The Cavaliers felt the loss of Boterman when the Wildcats immediately earned a corner shot with four minutes left in the third quarter. The resulting shot was deflected in by Sessa right through the back of the net for her 23rd goal of the season, putting Northwestern up 2-1.
Down by one goal entering the fourth quarter, a clutch effort was needed to pull the Cavaliers even with the Wildcats. However, just as Northwestern had immediately stormed back after the second half, Virginia immediately capitalized on a corner opportunity created by Tkachuk. The initial shot by sophomore midfielder Mia Abello was blocked, but Mendez-Trendler fired off the rebound past Skubisz, finding the net when the team most needed it to pull the score even at 2-2.
The rest of fourth quarter saw a visceral back-and-forth tension play out. With just seven minutes left to play, an extremely consequential call against Northwestern turned over a potential go-ahead goal that had seen graduate midfielder Chloe Relford expertly track down the ball and hit it to sophomore forward Olivia Bent-Cole who found the back of the net past Lempers. After a lengthy review, the goal was overturned with no immediate explanation, keeping Virginia’s hopes alive.
Chaos broke out in the final five minutes of the game when Leemans earned a yellow card that put the Cavaliers down for the rest of regular time. Green cards against Jones and Mendez-Trendler pulled the playing field down to 10-9 until the final two and a half minutes of play. Lacking two of their star players, the Cavaliers were somehow able to fend off a Northwestern attack and a corner, sending the game to sudden-death overtime for what would be the fourth consecutive one-point game for Virginia.
Less than a minute into overtime, Zimmer drew a corner off of obstruction by junior midfielder Madison Orsi. The Cavaliers survived that corner attempt to stay alive. However, after an unsuccessful push down the field by Virginia, another Wildcat corner was drawn off Croon’s foot. This time, Northwestern would not be denied, with an open shot by graduate midfielder Lauren Wadas going around Lempers to send the Wildcats to their fourth consecutive semifinal game. Virginia’s season was ended with the walk-off goal.
Although they came up short of reaching the semi-finals, the Cavaliers cemented themselves as fighters to the end — taking a nearly undefeated Northwestern squad to just their second overtime of the season. In its first season under Coach Ole Keusgen, Virginia opened with a nine-game winning streak and reached as high as No. 3 in the national rankings. While an overtime loss will sting for the next several months, the Cavaliers deserve to be proud of their accomplishments. Perhaps Virginia will soar even higher in 2025.
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