For No. 5 Virginia field hockey, opening another season against Penn State has become an expectation, with the programs playing against one another on opening weekend almost every year since 2009.
The past three seasons of victories have made defeating the Nittany Lions almost a standard, one that looked to be fulfilled again at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on Friday as the Cavaliers built a three-goal lead with their opponent scoreless.
Virginia’s three preseason All-ACC honorees in fourth-year Mia Abello, second-year Mary Adams and fourth-year goalie Nilou Lempers set the tone for what pointed towards another win, but Penn State brought a trio of their own Big Ten preseason honorees in graduate Sienna Dunn, junior Ella Gaitan and sophomore Lara Pyle with first-year coach Hannah Prince at the helm.
Still, through 45 minutes of play they had not yet found the back of the net, as both teams waged a fierce possession battle the Cavaliers maintained control of.
Until the Nittany Lions scored three unanswered goals in an under-six-minute fourth-quarter stretch, suddenly upending an already physical match into one Virginia was no longer guaranteed.
What followed was an 11-on-11 15-minute sudden death overtime period — new for NCAA Division I field hockey — and a winning penalty corner goal from Abello assisted by Mary Adams and Emma Watchilla, with Virginia coming away with a 4-3 win.
The ball sailed from the baseline with a strong pass from Adams to where Watchilla and Abello waited at the top of the circle, with Watchilla receiving the ball as Abello struck a rapid shot, hurtling straight into the goal for the win in the fifth minute of overtime.
The ease of the goal belied a substitution-heavy, aggressive game where the Cavaliers starting 11 quickly became a rotation, despite Virginia striking first with a goal in the first minute through a reverse stick shot from second year Rylee Dennis.
Virginia’s sophomore class, which anchored much of the 2025 season, was reliably strong in its return, with Dennis and second-year Riley Savage notching the first and second goals.
Cavalier freshmen acted as a linchpin, with highly-touted recruit Caitlin Connell getting her first assist on Savage’s goal through a well-timed stick placement deflecting her shot past Penn State junior goalkeeper Aby Deverka in the second quarter. First-year Livvy Barker would add another goal in the third quarter, tipping the ball in from a deflection by third-year Amelie Rees.
Lempers, ACC Goalie of the Year last season, was once again stalwart for most of the match, with an athletic save following the Nittany Lion's first corner.
Through the first three quarters Virginia’s play showed an emerging efficiency between its new class and more experienced players — not the same squad that defeated Penn State by four goals in 2025, but a solid rotation that kept them scoreless until the 48th minute.
“We controlled the game well and should have scored a couple of goals more before we lost control for five minutes in the 4th quarter,” Coach Ole Kuegsen said.
“We are a young team that will learn from this and how to close out games. I’m proud of our character to find a way in OT.”
That lack of control, already tense during a possession fight between Virginia and Penn State spanning the first three quarters, led to a sudden goal off of a penalty corner for the Lions — momentum they quickly capitalized on with two more.
Following the Cavaliers’ defensive collapse, the offensive press was suddenly forced to recalibrate, and given the opportunity through three penalty corners in the final five minutes of regulation, none of which converted.
Although Virginia did not have a penalty corner until the fourth quarter, they would quickly become the answer to silencing Penn State’s comeback as the team attempted to adjust.
A blocked shot from Watchilla went under review and initially did not result in a corner, until another official review reversed the call and a sudden opportunity to end the match materialized.
This time, the Cavaliers would take it.
The win showed a breadth of offensive power with eight different players scoring goals and contributing assists, although the young team will have to work to lock down possession and minimize scoring run opportunities from opponents eager to dismantle the defense.
However, execution in the revamped overtime period made it clear that Virginia can apply pressure even when the team backs itself into a corner. It also showed that despite the strength of its freshmen class, its battle-tested sophomores and seniors likely comprise the backbone of the 2026 campaign.
The Cavaliers will continue their opening slate against Rutgers and Ohio State during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in New Brunswick Sept. 4 and 6.
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