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Field Hockey: Cavaliers down the Great Danes, 3-2

No. 10 Virginia upends No. 7 Albany after toppling No. 3 Duke on Friday

<p>Sophomore striker Caleigh Foust came through in the clutch for Virginia again Sunday, scoring the game-winning goal 2:52 into overtime  as the No. 10 Cavaliers edged No. 7 Albany, 3-2. Freshman midfielder Tara Vittese assisted on the play. </p>

Sophomore striker Caleigh Foust came through in the clutch for Virginia again Sunday, scoring the game-winning goal 2:52 into overtime as the No. 10 Cavaliers edged No. 7 Albany, 3-2. Freshman midfielder Tara Vittese assisted on the play. 

The Virginia field hockey team won its sixth game in a row Sunday afternoon in a 3-2 overtime victory against the No. 7 Albany Great Danes at University Hall Turf Field. The win followed an upset in Durham against No. 3 Duke Friday.

“It is a huge deal,” coach Michele Madison said. “It is a huge win against Albany. … They were in the top seven in the country, and Duke was third — to get a [No.] 3 and 7 in one weekend is a credit to the girls’ effort and determination.”

The No. 10 Cavaliers (7-2, 2-0 ACC) won the game when sophomore striker Caleigh Foust scored off a pass from freshman midfielder Tara Vittese at 2:52 into overtime.

“We upset Duke on Friday and I think coming into this game we had a little bit of motivation to just kind of keep coming up on top,” Foust said.

Virginia spent ample time in its own territory but played strong defense, allowing only two goals off 15 shots and eight corners. Senior goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone had a steadfast showing, registering six saves.

Virginia scored two goals in the first half. The first came 25 minutes into the game from sophomore midfielder Lucy Hyams off another assist from Vittese. It was Hyams’ sixth goal of the season.

Four minutes later, sophomore midfielder Katie Kelly scored her first goal of the season and the second goal of her collegiate career. With so much of the game played in Virginia’s territory, the team's ability to capitalize on its time in Albany's half was all the more impressive. Both of the first-half goals came off play from penalty-corner shots.

“They learned that it works so they could bring that to the field today,” Madison said. “Execute the corners … again, it worked.”

The Great Danes (6-2) came back strong in the second half, however, scoring after only six minutes. Senior midfielder Amy Nicklin scored Albany’s first goal of the game and the first goal by either team after the break. It was Nicklin’s second goal of the season.

Later in the half, senior forward Kelly Bonner scored her first goal of the season off an assist from freshman midfielder Anna Bottino, tying the game at two.

The real star of the game was Foust, who leads Virginia with eight goals. Three of the Cavaliers’ past four games have gone to overtime, with Foust registering the game-winning goal each time.

“I think I don’t have that phenomenal [of] regulation games, and I think going into overtime I just get that extra little bit of adrenaline and I just want to finish it for the team because I see that everyone wants it so badly,” Foust said. “I just put that extra step into it and it just so happens to be me every time, I guess.”

The score came off a helper from Vittese, her 11th assist of the season and second of the day. Vittese, the current ACC Field Hockey Player of the Week, leads the Cavaliers in assists in 2014. All of Foust’s overtime game winners have come off Vittese set-ups.

“It worked again, the Vittese-Foust connection,” Madison said with a chuckle.

The team started the season 1-2, but has followed that up with a six-game winning streak.

“I think we have been working on the press a lot, and I think we worked as a unit moving up the field and back as a unit a lot this game,” Foust said. “I think going into overtime, we always want to come out on top. … I think today was an all around good effort from everybody.”

The Cavaliers will play No. 4 Syracuse — who beat Albany earlier this month — this Friday, marking their third conference game of the season. The game is slated for 6 p.m. at U-Hall, where Virginia remains undefeated in 2014.

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