A return to Charlottesville and a nonconference game for No. 19 Virginia field hockey could have signalled a final break from the relentless ACC before the postseason. But from the beginning, the Cavaliers (8-5, 3-4, ACC) and No. 20 Monmouth were immensely competitive offenses eager for scoring opportunities, and suddenly tied 2-2 in the third quarter.
But in the words of Coach Ole Keusgen, “ruthlessness” enabled Virginia to land a 4-3 victory.
The Hawks (9-4, 4-0, CAA) broke into the possession game early with a strong defensive side, although the Cavaliers pushed play out of the center and forced Monmouth to fight for the ball on sidelines and endlines.
Coming off of a single corner in their overtime win against Wake Forest, Virginia flipped the script with three of six total corners coming in the first quarter. An initial shot from sophomore back Lauren Sloan found second-year Bella Moore’s stick for a reverse shot that skittered past junior keeper Charlie Bowman, and Moore landed her first goal of the season on the first corner of the match to put the Cavaliers up early.
Bowman, like other keepers Virginia has recently faced, stepped up to the Cavaliers’ 16 shots on goal and made 12 saves on the day, anchoring the Hawk’s defense with physical goatending.
Connections to the circle — a piece of the offense Virginia has been ironing out all season — were much more fluid, as the Cavaliers worked around a stringent Monmouth defense that man-marked Virginia at every opportunity with aerials and skilled ball handling.
The Hawk’s offense was apt to respond in the second quarter, as junior forward Éabha Curran broke through Virginia’s back line, sprinting past fourth year back Mia Abello for a showdown with fourth year keeper Nilou Lempers. Curran navigated past Lempers for a shot, landing Monmouth’s first goal of the match and putting the Cavaliers on notice.
A fourth Virginia corner in the final minutes of the half was an opportunity to shut the Hawks down, but a shot from Abello tipped in on the far post by first year forward Livvy Barker went under review, ultimately overturned by officials. Then, a reverse aerial shot from Monmouth junior midfielder Lilly Ricks towards an off-guard Lempers suddenly turned a 2-1 Cavalier lead to a one-goal deficit.
Virginia’s back line kicked off the second half pushing upfield, with first-year back Marisa Fahning standing out on defense and as an insert on penalty corners. Fahning also did her time on the other side of the field, scoring a far post goal for the equalizer on another Cavalier corner.
“She takes a lot more responsibility as of late,” Keusgen said. “She plays a position where it's not necessarily super obvious because you don't score goals necessarily or assists. But the way she defends or breaks presses on offenses [was] important for us.”
Virginia carried that momentum forward as the offense continued to break out of the midfield, with first-year forward Caitlin Connell, second-year forward Riley Savage and Barker receiving transfers from sophomore midfielder Mary Adams into the circle.
Six minutes after Fahning’s goal, fourth-year forward Emma Watchilla made a reverse stick shot, falling to the turf as Savage faced Bowman in goal, working the ball past her for the Cavalier’s third goal of the match and leaving the tied score behind.
Connell’s sixth shot of the match would be the charm for Virginia’s last goal, with a blocked reverse shot from second-year midfielder Rylee Dennis coming back to Connell’s stick for a hit into the backboard. Not to be silenced, Monmouth found a penalty corner in the last minutes of play, senior forward Ava Zerfacc scoring the Hawk’s third goal and keeping Virginia from an easy win.
For Keusgen, the match’s ending mirrored the season at-large.
“We had several very good chances to finish the game early and [take] momentum off Monmouth, which we obviously didn't do,” Keusgen said. “And then two silly mistakes … which is kind of like almost summarizing our season a little bit. But we found a way… to just get it done.”
The Cavaliers will have to get it done one more time in the regular season against No. 21 Louisville Friday in their final home game of the season. Finished with road games and weekends packed with matches, Virginia will have five days of recovery and 13 past matches of experience to draw from as they prepare to take on the Cardinals.
Adair Reid is the newsletter editor for the 137th term of The Cavalier Daily, former humor editor for the 136th term and staff writer on the sports desk. She is a fourth-year College student, majoring in English and Media Studies. She is from Richmond and enjoys writing about the University’s Olympic sports teams and the changing landscape of college athletics.
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