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No. 8 Virginia Upsets No. 3 Old Dominion
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Sept. 2, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 8 Virginia field hockey upset No. 3 Old Dominion, 5-4, to cap off a three-game week. Paige Selenskiscored two more goals, finishing the week with nine goals.
Old Dominion struck early, with Rosario Villagra smashing in a shot from the top of the circle in the first two minutes of play. Paige Selenski (R-Sr., Shavertown, Pa.) scored the equalizer at the 6:42 mark, taking a pass from Carissa Vittese(Jr., Cherry Hill, N.J.) shortly after a penalty corner and scoring to tie the game, 1-1.
Two minutes later, both teams cleared the field after lightning was detected within a ten mile radius of the field. A heavy thunderstorm tore through the area, halting play for one hour, 45 minutes.
When play resumed, it was Virginia’s turn to strike fast with Selenski dribbling around the circle and taking a hard shot that sailed past the goalie for a 2-1 Virginia advantage three minutes after the game restart.
Vittese added a goal of her own ten minutes later, going one-on-one with the goal and ending the showdown with the ball in the net. Two minutes later, Old Dominion scored their second goal, knocking in a rebound off the pads of goalie Jenny Johnstone(So., Paisley, Scotland) to make it a 3-2 game.
With just under eight minutes remaining in the first half, Elly Buckley(Jr., Scarborough Perth, Australia) scored the first of her two goals off penalty corners. She scored her second almost 20 minutes into the second half, giving the Cavaliers a 5-2 advantage.
Old Dominion took advantage of a penalty corner of their own, netting a goal at the 59:12 mark. A minute later, the Monarchs’ Kati Nearhouse broke free and got off a shot from the left side that went into the net, suddenly making it a one-goal, 5-4 contest.
The Cavaliers put Rebecca Holden(Fr., Fishing Creek, N.J.) in goal after the two quick Old Dominion scores, but the rookie goalkeeper wouldn’t face a single shot as the Cavalier defense clamped down in the final nine minutes of the game, holding on for the 5-4 victory.
“It’s what I expected from this game. It’s always hard against Old Dominion,” said head coach Michele Madison. “They are a really good team. We knew what they were going to do, but isn’t easy to stop them. We are both very attacking teams, hence the 5-4 score.”
Selenski capped off a dominant week by adding two goals and an assist. In the three games this week, Selenski has amassed 23 points with nine goals and five assists, including two game-winners.
“I think this was a very big win for us and something that we needed,” Selenski said. “I think we needed a little boost of confidence. We worked really hard today doing what we needed to do. I think there are still a lot of areas to improve on, but we will continue to grow game by game.”
Buckley also had a huge week. She added two more goals to her week’s tally, finishing the three games with 15 points (six goals, three assists).
“We just fought really hard and played our system really well,” Buckley said. “We fought all the way to the end.”
Vittese scored her fourth goal of the season.
Johnstone improved to 3-0 on the season with three saves.
Old Dominion, who knocked off No. 1 Maryland on Friday, falls to 2-2 on the year. Virginia improves to 4-1 with their sole loss coming at No. 9 Penn State.
The Cavaliers are back on the road next week, heading to East Lansing to take on Michigan State and a neutral site contest against No. 21 Northeastern.