Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics
No. 8 Virginia Field Hockey Defeats No. 17 Delaware 3-1 for First Win of the Season
The Cavaliers did not have much time to mourn their overtime loss against No. 16 Penn State on Friday before they had to turn around and face another ranked opponent on Sunday against No. 17 Delaware.
The No. 8 Virginia field hockey team came out strong, scoring two goals in the first quarter, and defeated Delaware 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at the UVA Turf Field for its first win of the season.
It took the Cavaliers just over three minutes to strike first, as senior Peyton Tollaksen collected a rebound and put it in the back of the cage to score the game’s first goal and Tollaksen’s first goal of the season.
Just seven minutes later, UVA scored again after Greer Gill crossed the ball inside from the right side and it was deflected in by freshman Noa Boterman for her first career goal.
Early in the second quarter, the Blue Hens cut the Cavalier lead in half on a goal by Kiki Oudshoorn, assisted by Grace Hoepfner. At halftime, Virginia held a 2-1 lead.
Senior Taylor Henriksen started in goal for the Hoos, making two saves and allowing one goal. Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Kennedy played the entire second half and made five saves, all of which came in the fourth quarter as Delaware tried to find an equalizer. Neither team scored in the third quarter.
Delaware outshot Virginia 19-7 and had twice as many shots on goal (8) as the Cavaliers (4), but UVA’s goalie tandem made seven saves as compared to Delaware’s one save.
With just over ten minutes left in the game, the Hoos extended their lead on a goal by Meghen Hengerer, her second of the season. Amber Ezechiels took a hard shot towards the net and Hengerer deflected it in to make it 3-1, all but sealing the victory for Virginia.
With the win, Virginia improves to 1-1 on the season and the Cavaliers will face William & Mary in Williamsburg on Friday at 5pm.