#4 UVA (18-5, 4-2 ACC) had its season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to #9 Princeton (18-4, 7-0 Ivy) in the 2019 NCAA Field Hockey Championship semifinals on Friday at Wake Forest’s Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Junior midfielder Rachel Robinson (Mount Joy, Pa.) scored the lone goal for the Cavaliers.
This was the fifth time in program history that the Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA semifinals and the first time since 2010.
The Cavaliers struck early, with Robinson scoring on the first shot of the game by either team, converting a penalty corner 7:28 into the game. Virginia dominated possession in the first half, outshooting Princeton 6-2, but the Tigers made the most of their opportunities, tying the game with 2:38 remaining in the first half on a shot into the upper corner of the net by Ali McCarthy.
Princeton took a 2-1 lead with 4:50 remaining in the third period when Julianna Tornetta picked up a rebound and put it into the net. The Cavaliers’ attempt to rally was hampered when one of their players received a 10-minute yellow card 3:15 into the fourth quarter. Virginia went down another player eight minutes later when she also received a yellow card, giving Princeton a two-man advantage. UVA pulled its goalie with 2:53 remaining, evening the number of players on the field as the first card had expired.
Virginia had a chance to score, earning a penalty corner with 11.8 seconds remaining in the game. Freshman Cato Geusgens (Wassenaar, Netherlands) got off two shots, both of which were blocked. Sophomore Amber Ezechiels (Niew-Vennep, Netherlands) corralled the final rebound and fired off a third shot, but the attempt went wide, ending the game.
“It was an amazing semifinal,” UVA coach Michele Madison said. “I thought there was a lot of action. We had moments of domination and control of the game and we showed with their ability to dribble at a hundred miles an hour. I’m so proud of the team. I’m so proud of the seniors, the staff, everything and how they play every day. I knew they would show up and play with grit and grind and grind it out and it’s tough to play with one player down and even with two players down and we still had our opportunities to win the game.”
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Chris Graham
