The UVA field hockey team (13-7, 3-3 ACC) opened the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship with a 6-3 victory over Boston College (10-9, 3-3 ACC) on Thursday (Nov. 3) at Wake Forest’s Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The game was tied 3-3 at halftime. Senior Caleigh Foust (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) scored twice in the second half run for the Cavaliers, notching the first midway through the period and adding an insurance goal with less than a minute remaining. Freshman Anzel Vlijoen (Matamata, New Zealand) recorded her first career goal with 12 minutes remaining in the game to give the Cavaliers a two-goal cushion.
The sixth-seeded Cavaliers will face seven-seed Wake Forest in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m.
“The second half was a back-and-forth battle after we were a little hesitant the first half,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “We really focused on the defense and that gave us some attack opportunities. The turf is so live here, you have to play what is happening, get down and dirty and just make it work.”
The nine combined goals scored in the contest ties for the second-highest scoring game in ACC Championship history.
BC led 1-0 until junior Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) got the Cavaliers on the board, converting her fourth penalty stroke of the season 20 minutes into the contest. BC regained its one-goal advantage, scoring off a penalty corner three minutes later. Less than a minute later, senior Lucy Hyams (Whitstable, England) re-knotted the game after skying in a shot into the upper corner of the net. Virginia took its first lead of the game when freshman Colleen Norair (Fredericksburg, Va.) scored her first career goal after getting control of a bouncing ball and putting a volley shot past the keeper’s right side. BC sent the game into the break tied 3-3 after scoring on a penalty corner in the final minute of the period.
Two of Virginia’s goals in the second half were on second-chance opportunities with Foust putting in a rebound 15 minutes into the period and Viljoen taking advantage of a loose ball in front of the goal seven minutes later.
Boston College pulled its goalkeeper for the final 2:40 of the contest with Foust scoring an empty-netter with less than a minute to play.
Hyams finished the game with a goal and two assists. Senior Riley Tata (Virginia Beach, Va.) had her first assist of the season, helping to set up Viljoen’s goal in the second half.
The Eagles outshot the Cavaliers 9-4 in the first half, but Virginia held a 13-5 edge in the second.
The winner of Virginia and Wake Forest’s game will advance to play the winner of one-seed Duke and five-seed North Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m.
Virginia is looking for its first-ever ACC Tournament title. The Cavaliers have made six appearances in the championship game, most recently in 2009.
The entire tournament will be broadcast to a national television audience on the channels of the ACC Regional Sports Networks. The games will also be streamed live online on the ESPN3/WatchESPN platforms. Live stats will be available through the ACC Tournament Central website with links to all of these amenities posted on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia is looking for its first-ever ACC Tournament title. The Cavaliers have made six appearances in the championship game, most recently in 2009.
2016 ACC Field Hockey Championship single tickets are $5 (Thursday and Friday tickets are good for all games that are played that day). Children 18 and under get in for free; all others need a ticket.
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Chris Graham
