The Cavalier field hockey team fell 3-2 in a hard-fought battle to No. 8/9 Penn State today in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Field Hockey Championships held in College Park. Virginia’s Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn notched a goal and an assist, sandwiching them around three Nittany Lion goals in the loss. The No. 11/12 Cavaliers (11-10) outshot Penn State 10-9, but Jen Beaumont made six saves for the Nittany Lions to help them to the win.
After the Cavaliers denied Penn State three times on corners to start the game, Virginia drew a short corner as Ragukas picked off a pass and gave it to Katherine Bounds, who in turn sent the ball to Lauren Elstein, who drew the short. On the play, Virginia took the lead 1-0 in the 24th minute as Ragukas tipped a Kaars Sijpesteijn pass into the nets. The Cavaliers outshot the Nittany Lions and led 1-0 at the break.
Penn State notched a pair of goals 90 seconds apart in the second half to take the lead. Shaun Banta redirected a Britney Long entry into the boards to tie the game at 1-1 at 40:52, and Mallory Weisen connected on a direct corner shot at 42:27 off assists from Jen Long and Allison Scola for a 2-1 lead. Penn State made it 3-1 as Banta scored on a stickback off a corner rebound at 55:34.
Virginia pulled within one as Elstein chased down a long pass in the upper right corner and attacked the circle where she drew a short corner. On the play, the option to the right was sent to the boards by Kaars Sijpesteijn off an assist from Lucy Meyers at 64:21. The Cavaliers were not able to net the equalizer and conclude the playing portion of their season.
Linescore 1 2 F (records) Virginia 1 1 2 (11-10) Penn State 0 3 3 (14-7)
Scoring summary 23:18 VA pc Ragukas (Kaars Sijpesteijn) 1-0 40:52 PS fg Banta (B. Long) 1-1 42:27 PS pc Weisen (J. Long, Scola) 1-2 55:34 PS pc Banta (---) 1-3 64:21 VA pc Kaars Sijpesteijn (Meyers) 2-3
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Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com