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Aug 30, 2013

Final Stats

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 7 Virginia field hockey team opened the 2013 season with a 3-2 victory over Louisville Friday night (Aug. 30) in Charlottesville.

A pair of freshmen making their collegiate debuts accounted for two of the Cavalier goals. Riley Tata (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored the first goal of the season for UVa, tapping in a long pass from senior Elly Buckley (Scarborough, Perth, Australia) just under two minutes into the game. Caleigh Foust (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) scored Virginia’s third goal just over ten minutes into the second period, dribbling to the right side of the goal and knocking the shot past the Cardinal keeper.

“We’ll take it,” head coach Michele Madison said of the victory. “It’s always great to start the season with a win. You see so many things you want to work on and you want to fix it at once, but you can’t. I thought the seniors kept composure through the chaos. The freshmen did a great job, but they were out of structure and the upperclassmen were what really held it together.”

A pair of seniors, Buckley and Carissa Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.), scored the Cavaliers second goal just over five minutes into the second half, which broke up a 1-1 tie. Vittese was at the top of the circle to take a shot off a penalty corner insertion. Instead of shooting, she passed to Buckley in front of the net.

Buckley finished the game with a goal, an assist and also notched a defensive save in the first half. Senior Katie Robinson (Mount Joy, Pa.) also made a defensive save in the frantic first period.

“I thought we worked together well and we worked as a team,” Madison said. “We covered for each other. There were a lot of turnovers, but we were there trying to pressure and pick up the slack for each other. When we got possession, we were able to move it up the field pretty quickly.”

Virginia outshot Louisville, 16-9. Junior goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone (Paisley, Scotland) had three saves. Louisville’s Sydney King logged seven.

The Cavaliers close out the opening homestand hosting No. 6 Penn State on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. at Turf Field. Admission is free for all 2013 regular-season home field hockey games.

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