No. 3 Virginia Downs Stanford 5-1

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 3 Virginia field hockey team (7-0, 2-0 ACC) closed out the weekend with a 5-1 victory against Stanford (5-3, 0-2 ACC) on Sunday, Sept. 22 at Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va.

Virginia held a 2-0 lead at halftime and added three goals in the fourth quarter. Stanford scored on its only shot on goal.

Senior Noa Boterman scored two goals.

Virginia opens the season 7-0 for the first time since 2013.

Goals (Assist)
7:00 Virginia — Jans Croon (Daniela Mendez-Trendler, Emily Field)
21:46 Virginia — Noa Boterman (unassisted)
30:22 Stanford — Cara Sambeth (Jenny O’Grady, Star Horlock)
46:49 Virginia — Suze Leemans (Jans Croon)
58:02 Virginia — Noa Boterman (Daniela Mendez-Trendler, Emily Field)
58:41 Virginia — Emma Watchilla (Suze Leemans) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Senior Jans Croon got the Cavaliers on the scoreboard in the game’s first seven minutes, scoring off a corner. Boterman gave UVA  a 2-0 lead 6:46 into the second quarter after taking a hard shot from the top of the circle that smashed into the cage.

After not taking a shot in the first quarter, Stanford cut the deficit in half, scoring on a penalty corner 22 seconds into the second half.

Virginia broke open the 2-1 game by scoring three goals in the final period. Grad student Suze Leemans deflected in a shot off a penalty corner 1:49 into the fourth. Boterman scored a goal off a corner with 1:58 remaining in the game. Sophomore Emma Watchilla tipped in a pass from Leemans 40 seconds later for Virginia’s fifth goal of the game.

NOTES

• Virginia held an 18-2 edge in shots and 5-1 on penalty corners
• Stanford scored on its only penalty corner of the game and its only shot on goal
• Stanford goalkeeper Daisy Ford made seven saves, five of which came in the second half
• Emily Field logged her team-leading fifth and sixth assists of the season
• Suze Leemans goal was her team-leading fifth of the year. Emma Watchilla scored her fourth of the season

FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN

“Our individual defense wasn’t great. When you look at the bigger game, the closest situations, we didn’t defend it very well. And then we also had 18 shots, but the game was 2-1 for way too long. So we need to capitalize on clear opportunities.”

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers have another top-five match-up next Friday, Sept. 27,  when they travel to Durham to face No. 5 Duke, UVA’s third-consecutive ACC contest
• Virginia returns home to host William & Mary on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.