The No. 6 Virginia field hockey team (6-0, 1-0 ACC) closed out its weekend road trip with a 1-0 victory at Miami (Ohio) on Sunday, Sept. 13 in Oxford, Ohio.
Junior striker Riley Tata (Virginia Beach, Va.) broke the scoreless tie 15:51 into the second half, deflecting in a pass from freshman Greta Ell (Plains, Pa.). Miami had a chance to tie the game after being awarded a penalty corner with two seconds remaining in regulation, but the Virginia defense kept the RedHawks from getting off a shot.
“There was incredible effort by everyone on the field today on both teams,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “There was a lot of back-and-forth and a lot of midfield play. Our defense held strong, individually and collectively, to stop some really talented players from Miami. For our attack, Miami plays a different style and we needed to be patient, pre-scan, really know where we were going next and play to the open spaces. Once we did that, we were able to move the ball better.”
The Virginia goalkeeping tandem of redshirt freshman Carrera Lucas (Brooklandville, Md.) and junior Rebecca Holden (Fishing Creek, N.J.) combined for their second shutout of the season, each making three saves in 35 minutes in the net.
Virginia outshot Miami 15-13, including a 10-7 differential in the second half.
This is the fifth-straight game that the Cavaliers have won by a single-goal margin.
Tata’s goal was her first of the season.
Virginia returns home on Friday, Sept. 18 to host No. 4 Duke (3-2, 0-1 ACC) at 6 p.m. at Turf Field. Admission is free for all of Virginia’s regular-season home field hockey games.
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Chris Graham
