Senior midfielder Traci Ragukas, who was named to the 2007 ACC All-Tournament Team, finished out her college career Friday with one goal against North Carolina. Photo by Toby Loewenstein.
The No. 2 Virginia field hockey team’s record-breaking season came to an end Friday as it lost to No. 3 North Carolina 3-2 in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
The Cavaliers (20-4) entered the game with 20 wins, a program record. The game marked Virginia’s third-ever appearance in the national semifinals and the first since 1998.
Virginia had already played the Tar Heels (19-2) twice this season, winning in the ACC Tournament after dropping the teams’ regular season bout. Friday’s game was as highly contested as the previous matchups between the two teams.
“The team played their heart out today,” Virginia coach Michele Madison said. “I am very proud of their efforts. I am proud of the entire season; it is just unfortunate that it had to end today.”
Unlike the afternoon’s earlier game between Maryland and Princeton — which ended with the Terrapins winning 7-5 and advancing to the championship game — the match between the Tar Heels and Cavaliers was a grinding defensive struggle.
North Carolina got on the scoreboard first in the 23rd minute as senior forward Danielle Forword converted on a penalty corner. North Carolina held onto its one goal advantage for the remainder of the half and finished with six corners to Virginia’s one.
“North Carolina came out strong and was able to get penalty corners, but I thought our defense held up well,” Madison said. “We were able to shut down the corner opportunities except for the very last one that they did score.”
The Cavaliers rebounded early in the second half, demonstrating how they made it to the Final Four. On one of Virginia’s seven corners in the half, sophomore Inga Stöckel blasted a shot into the cage, but it was called back because the ball was ruled as crossing the goal line too high. The Cavaliers continued to press the Tar Heels, though, finally getting on the board in the 47th minute when senior forward Traci Ragukas slid in front of the cage and put the ball past the goalkeeper.
The Tar Heels wasted no time in striking back, scoring only three minutes later and then following up with another score in the 54th minute to take a 3-1 lead.
As the game’s clock began to wind down, the Cavaliers grew increasingly desperate and earned several corners. Sophomore midfielder Paige Selenski converted on one, scoring her 27th goal of the season. Her season total is the third most in program history.
The Tar Heels clamped down on defense after Selenski’s score, however, and managed to squeak out a win en route to a showdown with Maryland.
“I thought it seemed so close,” sophomore back Floor Vogels said. “I thought we had our chances, but we just didn’t score, and they did, and that’s just the way it is.”
The Tar Heels held a slight 12-11 shot advantage against the Cavaliers for the game; the Cavaliers, however, had an 8-7 edge on penalty corners. Though the game was relatively even, Virginia failed to catch up before time expired, despite having several corner opportunities during the last 10 minutes of the game.
Though the Cavaliers lost, they gained invaluable experience as an extremely young team in a fast-paced, high-pressure setting. With only two graduating seniors, Virginia will undoubtedly look to contend for the national title next season.
“I think it is a huge opportunity,” junior midfielder Haley Carpenter said. “It just shows us what need to work on for next year.”
The Tar Heels went on to defeat No. 1 Maryland in the championship game Sunday, with Forword scoring the game-winning goal off a penalty corner with 12 seconds left in the game.