No. 5 Virginia Falls to No. 1 Maryland, 4-1
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Oct. 25, 2013
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The No. 5 Virginia field hockey team (15-4, 3-3 ACC) closed out the regular season with a 4-1 loss at No. 1 Maryland (16-1, 5-0 ACC).
Maryland took a 3-0 lead in the first half, outshooting Virginia 11-1 in the period.
Senior forward Elly Buckley (Scarborough, Perth, Australia) took a hard shot from the top of the circle after a penalty corner injection 13 minutes into the second half. Senior defender Katie Robinson (Mount Joy, Pa.) deflected Buckley’s shot into the goal to put the Cavaliers on the scoreboard.
“We lost our structure tonight and that really hurt us,” Virginia head coach Michele Madison said. “In the first half, we tried a different kind of press and it didn’t work for us, so that’s out the window. Once we were able to get our rhythm and our attack back, we were able to apply some pressure and play better in the second half.”
Virginia outshot the Terrapins 9-5 in the second half with each team scoring one goal in the period.
Junior goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone (Paisley, Scotland) made nine saves, including six in the first half. Maryland’s Natalie Hunter made five saves, all in the second half.
Robinson’s goal was her first of the season. Buckley’s assist was her ACC-leading 47th point of the season.
With the victory, Maryland secured the regular-season ACC title. Virginia finishes the 2013 campaign with a 3-3 mark in conference play.
Virginia has a bye week before heading to Newton, Mass. for the ACC Tournament, being held Nov. 7-10 at Boston College. The conference office will release the official tournament seedings and complete bracket after next weekend’s conclusion of the regular-season.