No. 5 Virginia Wins 7-2 over No. 18 William & Mary
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Box Score Sept. 15, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 5 Virginia field hockey team (6-1, 1-0 ACC) picked up a 7-2 victory over No. 18 William & Mary (5-2, 0-0 CAA) on Friday (Sept. 15) at University Hall Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers broke open a 2-2 game by scoring five unanswered goals. Junior striker Greta Ell (Plains, Pa.) had the first hat trick of her career.
“William and Mary played really well today, putting us under a lot of pressure and making us play a different game, which was good for us” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “We had some strong performances out there today. Greta Ell came to play and was on fire today. I thought we did some things very well out there, but we still need to keep focused and continue to get better.”
The Cavaliers only held a 22-18 edge in shots, but made the most of their opportunities scoring seven goals on 14 shots on goal.
Ell started things off for the Cavaliers by scoring on the first shot of the game, getting a ball through the goalkeeper’s legs into the net at 4:34. The Tribe answered a minute later, scoring on their first shot of the game. Ell put the Cavaliers back into the lead at the 10:02 mark, converting a long pass from senior midfielder Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.). Three minutes later, William & Mary tied the game 2-2, after stealing a ball and converting the opportunity into a goal. Vittese scored what would be the game-winning goal five minutes late after smashing a backhand into the back of the net. Junior Izzy McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.) deflected in a cross-circle pass from freshman midfielder Pien Dicke (Den Haag, Netherlands) to give the Cavaliers a 4-2 lead. Sophomore forward Erin Shanahan (Pasadena, Md.) converted a fastbreak opportunity with eight minutes left in the half to give UVA a 5-2 lead at the break.
In the second half, Ell made it a 6-2 advantage by tapping in a loose ball after a penalty corner under ten minutes in the period. Sophomore midfielder Colleen Norair (Fredericksburg, Va.) finished off the scoring by hitting a pass from Vittese into the upper corner of the net with 20 minutes remaining in the game.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Carrera Lucas (Brooklandville, Md.) improved to 6-1 on the season, making seven saves, including five in the second half.
Vittese, who currently leads the nation in points, scored a goal with two assists to add four more points to her tally, giving her 43 for the season.
The Cavaliers close out the weekend with another game against a Commonwealth rival, hosting Richmond on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. at Turf Field. Admission is free for all of Virginia’s regular-season home field hockey games.