Field Hockey Advances in NCAA Tournament

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November 14, 1998

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Virginia senior All-American Meridith Thorpe (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs) scored her 100th career goal today as the Cavaliers defeated Kent 4-2 in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Field Hockey Championships. Thorpe’s goal, 19:40 into the second half, was also the game-winner as the Cavaliers will play in the NCAA second round for the third consecutive year and have won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.

The Cavaliers jumped on top with a pair of goals in 70 seconds late in the first half of play. Michelle Vizzuso (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) picked up her own stick stop and scored with 12:00 to go in the first half off a penaltycorner. Vizzuso’s goal gives her 50 for her career, making her just the second person in ACC history to record 50 goals and 50 assists in a career. Just 70 seconds later, she sent a long through ball to her sister Lorraine, who chaseddown the ball 50 yards down the field and slotted a shot into the corner of the cage to put the Cavaliers up 2-0. The teams took this score into the break.

Kent pulled within one when Marjolein Kooster scored on a scramble in front of the cage 15 minutes into the second period. But the Cavaliers went ahead by two again on Thorpe’s goal. She and Meredith Elwell (Moorestown,N.J./Moorestown) combined on a breakaway and Thorpe swept the ball into the cage off a rebound for her 100th career goal. Thorpe scored again nine minutes later as she took a breakaway pass from Elwell to the goal for a 4-1 lead.

Kent scored again on a penalty stroke as Elsbeth Vesterre’s shot on a penalty corner was stopped illegally by the corner defense and Vesterre converted the stroke with 2:26 remaining.

With the win, the Cavaliers advance to the second round to face the fourth seeded Maryland Terrapins. The Cavaliers and the Terrapins have split a pair of one-goal games this year, with the Cavaliers taking the opener 3-2 and theTerps getting the equalizer in the finals of the ACC Championships lastSunday.

Thorpe is only the seventh person in NCAA Division I history to record 100 goals in a career, and she ranks seventh all-time in NCAA Division I history with 229 career points. Michelle Vizzuso, who ranks second all-time in the ACC with 59 career assists, joins Lynsey McVicker as the only two people in ACC history to record a 50/50 double.

The game against the Maryland Terrapins will take place at 2:00 tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 15 in College Park.

Virginia 4, Kent 2

                       1    2    FKent (18-5)            0    2    2Virginia (17-4)        2    2    4

Scoring summary: V: M. Vizzuso (Lindsay)/12:00(1); V: L. Vizzuso (M.Vizzuso)/10:50(1); K: Kooster/19:47(2); V:Thorpe/15:20; V:Thorpe(Elwell)/6:03; K:Vesterre(PS)/2:26(2)

Goals: V: Thorpe 2, M. Vizzuso 1, L. Vizzuso 1 K:Vesterre, Kooster
Assists: V: Lindsay, M. Vizzuso, Elwell
Shots: V: 16, K: 6
Corners: V: 9, K: 6
Saves: V: 1 (Worthington 1), K: 8 (Lume 6, DeBoer 1, Vesterre 1)