The No. 10 Virginia field hockey (1-1) fell 4-2 against No. 7 Penn State (2-0) on Sunday (August 27) at University Hall Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va.
The Nittany Lions led 3-0 at halftime and were up 4-0 when the Cavaliers scored back-to-back goals in a two-minute span to half the deficit with 10 minutes remaining. UVA pulled its goalie to add an extra attacker for the final five minutes of the contest, but Penn State’s defense held on for the 4-2 victory.
Senior midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) scored the Cavaliers’ first goal and assisted on the second. Freshman midfielder Pien Dicke (Den Haag, Netherlands) scored her fourth goal of the young season. Penn State’s Bes Bovelander and Gini Bramley scored two goals apiece.
“If you let a team like Penn State score three goals, it is really hard to overcome that,” said head coach Michele Madison. “I’m proud of what our team did in the second half, playing strong until the end. We need to practice some pressure opportunities, so we will be focusing on that. Playing Penn State in the opening weekend, as we usually do, is a good opportunity. They play a very fast game and it is good for us to experience that tempo and get this game under our belt. It helps the team understand the level at which we need to play.”
Virginia scored both of its goals off penalty corners. Vittese scored her goal by knocking in a pass from the top of the circle from sophomore striker Erin Shanahan (Pasadena, Md.). For Virginia’s second goal, Dicke put her stick on the ground to deflect in a shot from the top of the circle from Vittese after the corner’s stick-stop.
Freshman goalie Lauren Hausheer (West Windsor, N.J.) made her collegiate debut, subbing into the game with 25 minutes remaining in the second half, making four saves without surrendering a goal.
Penn State took 20 shots while Virginia fired off 17.
The Cavaliers season-opening homestand continues next weekend when they host Columbia on Friday (Sept. 1) at 5 p.m. and Monmouth on Sunday (Sept. 3) at 1 p.m.
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Chris Graham
