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Field Hockey Shuts Out No. 16 Wake Forest
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October 24, 1998
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- The Cavalier defenseallowed only four shots on goal while senior All-American MeridithThorpe (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs) netted a hat trick to help theCavaliers defeat sixteenth-ranked Wake Forest 6-0 today inCharlottesville. Senior All-American Michelle Vizzuso (Fairfield,N.J./West Essex) added three assists to send the Cavaliers to thevictory. The six goals is the most goals allowed by Wake this season,which ranked first in the conference in scoring defense, allowing only1.00 goals per game before today.
After 20 minutes of movementup and down the field by both teams, Vizzuso started the scoring for theCavaliers with a blast from just inside the circle after she had drawnthe Wake keeper out of the net. Her goal with 10:38 remaining in thehalf would prove to be the game-winner. Wake went down 2-0 just 42seconds later when Thorpe’s shot was deflected by a Wake defender intothe cage. Laura Lindsay (Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield) was credited withan assist on the goal.
Wake was able to force a pair of corners in a ten-second spanwith two minutes to go in the half, but both shots were saved byVirginia goalie Becky Worthington (Fairview Village, Pa./Methacton), whofinished the day with three saves. The teams entered halftime withVirginia holding a 2-0 lead.
Thorpe hit the third goal on a beautiful cross by AmyBroadwater (Elizabethtown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) just 12:26 into the secondhalf. Worthington came up big for the Cavaliers as she saved a tippedshot that almost dipped into the cage minutes later, but her save on thelast Demon Deacon shot preserved the victory.
Vizzuso and Meredith Elwell (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown)teamed up for the next two goals, ten minutes apart. With 17:50remaining in the half, Vizzuso’s pass into the circle was collected byElwell, who put the ball in the cage behind the goalie who had come outto play Vizzuso. The Cavaliers went up 5-0 ten minutes later whenVizzuso’s pass was poked in past the keeper on a breakway.
Thorpe completed her hat trick with just 34 seconds remainingas the Cavaliers connected on a penalty corner. Vizzuso’s stick stop waspushed to Thorpe, who swept the ball into the net for the final score ofthe game. Vizzuso’s assist gives her 22 for the season, which sets a newVirginia record for assists in a season, breaking the 21 she had setlast year. Her first period goal gives her 10 goals on the season, whichmeans that for the third consecutive season, Vizzuso has scored indouble digits in both goals and assists in a single season. She was thefirst Cavalier to reach this milestone two years ago and is the onlyperson in school history to reach this milestone in three consecutiveseasons. With the win, the Hoos have now won 21 straight gamesin October and have won 14 in a row at home, including ten this season.They look to continue both streaks as Virginia hosts Radford on Wed,Oct. 28 at 7:00.
FINAL 1 2 F (records) #16 Wake Forest 0 0 0 (9-7, 1-2 ACC)#1 Virginia 2 4 6 (13-3, 3-0 ACC)
Scoring summary:
M. Vizzuso/10:38 (1); Thorpe (Lindsay)/9:56(1); Thorpe (Boradwater)/22:34(2); Elwell(M. Vizzuso)/17:50(2); Elwell (Vizzuso)/7:15(2); Thorpe (M. Vizzuso)/0:34(2).
Goals: V: Thorpe 3, Elwell 2, M. Vizzuso 1 Assists: V: M. Vizzuso 3, Lindsay, Broadwater Shots: V: 12, WF: 4 Corners: V: 10, WF: 4 Saves: V: 3 (Worthington 3); WF: 4 (Nitka 4)