Worthington Advances to US Field Hockey League Semifinals
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June 24, 1998
TRENTON, N.J. – Becky Worthington (Fairview Village, Pa./Methacton), one of the goalies on the top-ranked Virginia field hockey defense, recorded a shutout to help her elite Blue team advance to the United States Field Hockey Association Summer League semifinals next weekend in College Park, MD. The Blue team, who also claims Virginia junior Meredith Elwell (Moorestown, N.J./ Moorestown), defeated the Elite Purple team 9-0 to advance to the championship round on July 4. Elwell’s goal in the last minute of the first half gave the Blue team a 4-0 lead at halftime. Worthington is a member of the United States Under-19 team that will compete in the Montreal Cup in Canada this week. Elwell is a member of the Under-23 national team and is a member of the Virginia lacrosse team that advanced to the national finals in 1998.
Elwell, Worthington, and the rest of the Blue team will face the top-ranked Elite White team, which features US national team member and Cavalier senior Michelle Vizzuso (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex). Vizzuso, a first-team All-American in 1997, helped the White team remain undefeated with two wins this weekend. Along with Vizzuso, incoming assistant coach Katie Kauffman (West Lawn, Pa.) and the rest of the Elite White team will enter the semifinals as the top seed. The Elite White team leads the league in scoring defense, allowing .8 goals per game.
The opponents in the other bracket, the Elite Red team and the Eilte Green team, both claim Cavaliers on their squads who are both members of the United States Under-23 team along with Elwell. Laura Lindsay (Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy), who set a record in 1997 for sophomores with 19 assists, is on the Elite Red team that will be the second seed in the competition. Their opponents on July 4 will be the third-seeded Green team. Frances West (Alexandria, Va./T. C. Williams) is a member of the Elite Green team, which leads the league in scoring at 4.0 goals per game.
The semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday, July 4 at the University of Maryland. White will take on Blue at 9:00 am while the Red and Green will match up at 11:00. The third-place game will begin at 6:00 pm while the Championship is set for 8:00 pm.
The University of Virginia finished the 1997 regular season ranked number one in the country and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time in school history. The Cavaliers also led the nation in scoring defense, allowing less than a goal per game, and in shutouts, recording 11. Virginia opens up the 1998 season at the ACC-Big 10 Challenge in St. Louis on September 5 against the Ohio State University. The Cavaliers will return home on Thursday, September 10 to face the Northeastern University Wildcats. The coach of the Wildcats, Cheryl Murtagh, is also the coach of the USFHA Elite Red team.