UVA Field Hockey opens with 3-0 win over ODU

The No. 11 UVA field hockey team (1-0, 0-0 CC) opened the season with a 3-0 victory at Old Dominion (0-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) on Friday (August 30) in Norfolk, Va.

Junior striker Makayla Gallen (Glen Mills, Pa.) scored two of UVA goals. Senior midfielder Erin Shanahan (Pasadena, Md.) contributed the third. Redshirt sophomore goalie Lauren Hausheer (West Windsor, N.J.) saved the only shot she faced.

After not taking a shot in the first quarter, the Cavaliers made three attempts in the second, with Gallen hitting paydirt by deflecting in a shot on a pass from junior Rachel Robinson (Mount Joy, Pa.) after a penalty corner. Gallen scored the Cavaliers second goal in the fourth quarter, deflecting in a shot from the stick of sophomore midfielder Annie McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.).

Shanahan added a third goal with ten minutes remaining in the game, bouncing a shot through the circle that rolled past the goalkeeper and into the cage.

“For a first game, there were some things that were really good and some things that we can build on,” UVA coach Michele Madison said. “It was a total team effort. We needed everybody to take on a team as good as Old Dominion. The team stuck with it, that is what I am most proud of. They stuck with it, stayed patient, and they chunked it out bit by bit. They did the little things well that they needed to do to win today.”