No. 16 Virginia Knocks Off No. 13 Navy to Open 2019 Season
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Eight different players scored as No. 16 Virginia (1-0) opened the 2019 season with a 15-12 win over No. 13 Navy (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium.
“Just really excited that the season has started and that we started with a win,” head coach Julie Myers said. “Navy did a great job of making us work for everything, making every possession count and really making every ground ball as hard as it could possibly be. I’m really excited we rose to the challenge against great competition and we came up with the win.”
Senior Avery Shoemaker (Wyndmoor, Pa.) led the Cavaliers with seven points on four goals and three assists. Fellow senior Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) had four points with one goal and three assists. Junior Nora Bowen (Lovettsville, Va.) had her first career hat trick. Four freshmen scored their first collegiate goals in the game.
Junior Charlie Campbell (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) had a career-high 12 saves in her first start in the net for the Cavaliers.
UVA was down 4-1 through the first 28 minutes, with the lone goal by freshman Annie Dyson (Alexandria, Va.). The Cavaliers would close the half on a 5-0 run to lead 6-4 at the break. Shoemaker bookended the run, while junior Sammy Mueller (Pelham, N.Y.), Jackson and freshman Grayson Offutt (Arlington, Va.) added to the run.
The Midshipmen scored just 43 seconds into the second half, but Offutt connected with Mueller for a goal and Bowen scored on a free position to keep UVA in the lead 8-5. Freshmen Courtlynne Caskin (Potomac, Md.) and Lillie Kloak (Ridgewood, N.J.) added goals to stretch the lead to 10-6 with 18:41 to play. Navy pulled within two, 13-11, and won the ensuing draw but Campbell came up with a big save that led to Shoemaker’s fourth goal of the game. Offutt added another goal to seal the victory.
Virginia led in saves, 12-4, while Navy had the edge in shots (30-26) and draw controls (16-13). Both teams finished with 18 ground balls and each had three free position goals. UVA was efficient on clears (15-16), while forcing errors by Navy in the middle of the field (13-18).
Virginia will be on the road next Saturday, Feb. 16, at Elon for a 1 p.m. opening draw.