No. 2 Field Hockey Defeats William & Mary

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October 21, 1998

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Lori Mastropietro (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) scored on a corner play to give the Cavaliers the 2-0 lead in the second half and second-ranked Virginia held off a furious William & Mary charge to defeat the Tribe 2-1 tonight in Charlottesville. For the second consecutive game, the Cavaliers faced a penalty corner with no time on the clock, and for the second consecutive time, the Cavalier defense stood strong, preserving the win.

Virginia took the lead in the first period as Michelle Vizzuso (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) converted a penalty stroke just 12 minutes into the game after Meredith Elwell (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) was taken down in front of the goal. Vizzuso’s goal was the only scoring in the first half as the Cavaliers were able to prevent William and Mary from taking a shot.

In the second half, the William and Mary defense tightened and kept the Cavaliers from shooting the ball until Mastropietro collected a pass from Meridith Thorpe (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs) on a penalty corner play and hit the ball into the cage to give the Cavaliers the 2-0 lead. William and Mary stormed back, collecting a loose ball in the backfield and scoring on a scramble in front of the cage to cut the deficit to 2-1.

With time running down, William and Mary was able to force a corner and have a chance for the equalizer with no time on the clock. But they were unable to get the corner in action and the Cavaliers held on for the victory.

With the win, the Cavaliers improve to 12-3 on the season. They will face ACC rival Wake Forest on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11:00 am. Virginia stands at 2-0 in the conference, while Wake Forest is 1-1. The win tonight was Virginia’s sixth in a row and their 20th consecutive win in October and their 13th consecutive win at home.

Virginia 2, William & Mary 1                 1   2   F (records)William & Mary   0   1   1 (7-8)#2 Virginia      1   1   2 (12-3)

Scoring summary: V: Vizzuso (PS)/22:54 (1); V: Mastropietro (Thorpe)/12:05 (2); W: Noel/9:47 (2)

Goals: V: Vizzuso, Mastropietro W: Noel
Assists: V: Thorpe
Shots: V: 10; W:5
Saves: V: 2 (Worthington 2); W: 3 (Vargas 3) Corners: V: 7; W: 4