The No. 5 Virginia field hockey team (2-2) closed out its weekend homestand with a 2-0 loss to No. 14 Delaware (3-1) on Sunday (Sept. 4) at University Hall Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers held a 19-8 advantage in shots, but the Blue Hens took advantage of their chances to score a pair of goals, one in each half. Delaware goalie Emmeline Oltmans made a career-high 11 saves against the Cavalier offense.
“We were able to generate the attack we needed, but Delaware was very good at shutting us down once it got to the goal,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “Every game, we need to redefine who we want to be as a team and how we are going to advance forward. We will need to take a look at today’s game and answer that question.”
This was the second time this season the Cavaliers failed to score a goal in a game after being shut out 3-0 at Penn State last Sunday.
Delaware scored on its first shot of the game after the Blue Hens were awarded a penalty corner eight minutes into the contest. Kiki Bink scored on a pass from Lisa Giezeman after the insertion.
One of Virginia’s best scoring chance came with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Seniors Lucy Hyams (Whitstable, England) and Riley Tata (Virginia Beach, Va.) fired off three quick shots, with Oltmans making two saves and the third missing the target. The Cavaliers were awarded in penalty corner at the end of the offensive flurry, but a shot from junior Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) was blocked, ending the threat.
The Cavaliers had a penalty corner to end the first half, but a shot from freshman Dominique van Slooten (Laren, Netherlands) sailed wide, sending UVA into the locker room trailing 1-0.
In the second half, Delaware took five total shots, three of which came in rapid-fire succession with 13 minutes left in the game. An initial shot by Taylor Lister was saved by Virginia senior goalkeeper Rebecca Holden (Fishing Creek, N.J.) as was a subsequent shot from Lauren Crudele. Crudele picked up her own miss and tapped it over to Alexis Gazzio who got the third-chance shot past Holden to give Delaware the 2-0 lead.
Delaware and Virginia met last season in a pair of tight matches. During the regular-season, UVA won a 3-2 overtime contest at Delaware. Less than a month later, the two teams played one another in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with Virginia advancing after another overtime victory, 4-3. This was Delaware’s first victory over Virginia since 1988, with UVA going 6-0-1 in the last seven meetings.
The Cavaliers will be on the road next weekend, traveling to face No. 4 Duke on Friday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. in Durham, N.C. Virginia returns home to host Liberty on Monday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.
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Chris Graham
