With the end of the regular season on the horizon, No. 3 Virginia field hockey appeared ready to ramp up its play for the postseason, dismantling William & Mary in a 5-0 shutout win in Williamsburg, Va. Sunday. Against an outmatched opponent, the Cavaliers (11-1, 5-1, ACC) worked to address some of their more noticeable flaws, specifically their inability to consistently generate clean offense and convert when given solid chances.
Sunday’s game may prove to be a turning point before the postseason, as the team scored more goals against the Tribe (1-12, 0-3, CAA) alone than in their previous four games combined. While Virginia’s defense has been stout, its offense has been lackluster, ranking 47th nationally in goals per game and 62nd in penalty corners per game. For a squad with national championship aspirations, these numbers just will not do, as they are only being kept afloat by great back-end play and goalkeeping, ranking second in the nation in goals against average at 0.539.
With this in mind, Virginia clearly knew offense was a priority, outshooting William & Mary 25-5. The shift was apparent immediately, and though the Cavaliers did not find the net in the first quarter, they were able to conjure up six shots, knowing sooner or later, a ball was bound to slip past junior Tribe goalkeeper Alexandra De Jesus.
It would be sooner, it turned out, as in the second minute of the second quarter, sophomore forward Catalina Quinteros broke the tie with her second goal of the season, assisted by her fellow sophomore, midfielder Amelie Rees. Quinteros was the first of four goal scorers for Virginia and the only to convert in the first half.
At the end of the second period, the Cavaliers showed a clear edge on paper, but not on the scoreboard. Though outshooting William & Mary 12-1, the deficit remained at one. Coach Ole Keusgen praised his team’s aggressiveness but also implored them to not keep wasting chances.
“We had enough opportunities to secure a more comfortable lead in the first half, but we weren’t able to convert on good looks,” Kuesgen said.
The team responded, ratcheting up their offensive aggression even further in the second half. In the third period, Virginia recorded 12 shots and four goals marking its best offensive quarter of the season. Graduate midfielder Suze Leemans kicked off the avalanche just a minute after the second half commenced, netting her third goal of the season.
Around halfway through the quarter, the Cavaliers went on a three-minute run in which they scored three goals. The first two came from freshmen — midfielder Rylee Dennis, who scored her first ever collegiate goal, and forward Frederique Vernooij who scored her second. Just under a minute later Virginia celebrated again, as Quinteros netted her second goal of the day.
With a commanding five-goal lead, the Cavaliers sank back on defense in the fourth and helped junior goalkeeper Emma Giesting record a shutout in her first ever start. Filling in for junior Nilou Lempers, she held down the net, making four saves on William & Mary’s four shots on goal. But the offense was the true story of the day, providing some much needed optimism going forward for Virginia after a tough scoring stretch. While the win was impressive, though, Kuesgen still believed the team left points on the table.
“Today was a good team win, in which we should have scored more against a very deep defending team,” Kuesgen said. “We played more aggressively and creatively in the second half which led to more goals.”
After being shut out by North Carolina, and only scoring once against both Liberty and Duke, the team knows it needs to keep up this aggressive offensive play before the postseason. They will inevitably end up squaring off against another top team in the ACC playoffs, and though the win against William & Mary demonstrates a good start, there is no doubt the competition will be much tougher come November.
Louisville serves as a good next test for the team — a step up in competition from the Tribe, but certainly an easier matchup then some of Virginia’s other ACC battles. Coming off a big win against California, the Cardinals will be poised to keep their momentum going to end off the regular season on a high note. The game will take place at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Friday at 3 p.m. The match can be streamed on ACCNX.
Read More
Women’s golf shows flashes of potential amid tough conclusion to fall season
By Joby Jung | 4 hours agoVirginia finished final of four fall tournaments Sunday in 15th place.
Virginia slashes Virginia Tech’s hopes of revenge with straight-sets win
By Cierra Lyles | 5 hours ago“I would say that’s probably the best we’ve played all year,” Coach Shannon Wells said.
Second-half resurgence propels No. 9 men's soccer over Denver
By Mofeoluwa Akande | 15 hours agoReese Miller scored his first goal in more than 13 months.
