No. 7 Virginia field hockey defeats No. 6 Penn State, 4-2

The No. 7 Virginia field hockey team defeated No. 6 Penn State, 4-2, Sunday (Sept. 1) in Charlottesville. Junior goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone (Paisley, Scotland) made 13 saves to improve her record and the team’s to 2-0.

“It is always a big win to beat Penn State,” said head coach Michele Madison. “They are a great team and a great program. This was a great opportunity for both us and Penn State to see where we our teams are and what we are made of.  I think both teams showed a lot of character. We were the ones who were able to put the ball in the goal. Jenny Johnstone kept us in the game when we had a scoring lull.”

Virginia (2-0) faced six second-half penalty corners, with Penn State (1-1) capitalizing on just one of those opportunities. The Nittany Lions fired off 21 shots to Virginia’s 19, including outshooting the Cavaliers 13-8 in the second period. Johnstone made eight of her 13 saves in the second half.

Senior Elly Buckley (Scarborough, Perth, Australia) added her second and third goals of the season. Buckley smashed in a shot off a penalty corner 2:12 into the game, the only goal either team would score in the first half. After Penn State tied the game, 1-1, on a penalty corner 14 minutes into the second half, Buckley put UVa up, 2-1, four minutes later. Buckley started dribbling at mid-field, making it all the way down into the circle where she fired off a shot to give her squad the advantage.

Senior Hadley Bell (Shaker Heights, Ohio) smashed in a shot from the right side of the goals three minutes after Buckley’s second goal with an assist from freshman Macy Peebles (Yorktown, Va.). Penn State pulled to within one, 3-2, with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Freshman Riley Tata (Virginia Beach, Va.) tapped in a pass from fellow freshman Lucy Hyams (Whitestable, Kent, England) with six minutes remaining to give Virginia an insurance goal.

“The goal for today was to go hard every second of every play and I think we brought a great intensity to the field,” Madison said.

Virginia opened the 2013 season with a 3-2 victory Friday night over Louisville. Penn State started the season by earning a 3-1 comeback win at No. 8 Old Dominion.

Virginia will play a pair of road games next weekend, playingat Yale on Friday, Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. before heading back south to face No. 8 Old Dominion on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.

The Cavaliers return home on Wednesday, Sept. 11 for a 6 p.m. midweek contest against Richmond. Admission is free for all regular-season home games played at Turf Field.