Field hockey: No. 9 UVA downs Richmond, 4-1

The No. 9 UVA field hockey team (11-5, 3-2 ACC) earned a 4-1 road win at Richmond (6-8, 4-2 A10) on Tuesday (Oct. 18) at Crenshaw Field in Richmond, Va.

Junior midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) had a hand in all four goals, scoring two and assisting on two more that were netted by senior striker Riley Tata (Virginia Beach, Va.). The Cavalier defense limited the Spiders to two shots in the game.

“We possessed the ball well and were able to generate a lot of attack which led to some nice shots on goal,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “The defense did a fantastic job. They worked really well together. We used a lot of people tonight and they were all able to step up and put the pressure on when we needed it.”

Vittese put Virginia on the board 11:07 into the game when she converted a penalty stroke, her third of the year. Richmond answered five minutes later, tying the game on a shot from Emma Johansson. Just over a minute later, the Cavaliers retook the lead when Tata tapped in a shot from the top of the circle by Vittese off a penalty corner.

Tata started off the second half by giving Virginia a 3-1 lead in the first minute and a half of the period, taking a pass from Vittese and shooting it past Richmond’s Amanda Hoyt.

The Spiders pulled Hoyt with 16:49 remaining in the game, playing with just a kicking back. The Spider defense managed to hold off the Cavalier attack until Vittese found herself with the ball on the edge of the circle with under four minutes left in the game. Vittese dribbled past multiple defenders, created space and then took a hard shot into the empty net to make it a 4-1 game.

The Cavaliers held a 23-2 advantage in shots, including a 15-1 edge in the first half. Virginia took 10 penalty corners while the Spiders had none.

Virginia has now won seven of its last eight games, including three-straight.

Virginia returns to Turf Field on Friday, Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m. to host No. 7 Louisville in the final regular-season ACC contest of the year. Admission is free for all regular-season home games at Turf Field.