The No. 4 Virginia field hockey team (8-1, 2-1 ACC) fell 3-1 at No. 2 Syracuse (8-0, 3-0 ACC) on Friday (Sept. 25) at J.S. Coyne Field in Syracuse, N.Y., with the Orange handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season.
Junior Katie Kelly (Phoenixville, Pa.) scored the lone goal for the Cavaliers.
“This was another hard-fought ACC game,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “It was tight in the first half with a lot of midfield play. Syracuse really brought their A-game in the second half. There are definitely some things we need to work on, but we knew that anyway. Now we have some film to work with.”
Virginia held a 7-6 shot advantage in the first half but Syracuse outshot UVa 8-1 in the second half.
Trailing 1-0 after the Orange scored on a penalty corner ten minutes into the game, Kelly positioned herself in front of the goal, taking a pass from the right side and taking a hard shot. After the initial shot was saved by Syracuse goalie Jess Jecko, Kelly picked up the rebound off the pads and took another hard shot, tying the game, 1-1.
The Orange scored on a backhand shot with 1:47 remaining in the first half to take a 2-1 lead. Syracuse added a third goal, scoring on a breakaway 17 minutes into the second half.
Syracuse is now one of three remaining undefeated teams, alongside UConn and Delaware.
Virginia returns home next week, hosting No. 3 North Carolina on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. and Richmond on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all regular-season games at Turf Field.
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Chris Graham
