Virginia Edged in Overtime in NCAA Quarterfinals

EVANSVILLE, Ill. – The Virginia field hockey team (14-5) had its season come to an end with a 3-2 overtime loss against No. 2 Northwestern (21-1) at Lakeside Field in Evansville, Ill.

The Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but Northwestern scored two goals in the third quarter to go up 2-1. Junior Daniela Mendez-Trendler tied the game 28 seconds into the fourth quarter. The game remained tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, forcing overtime. Virginia defended one penalty corner in the extra time, but the Wildcats scored on their second to deny the Cavaliers a trip to the NCAA Semifinals.

Goals (Assist)
28:46 Virginia – Suze Leemans (Jans Croon)
31:29 Northwestern — Elaine Velthuizen (Katie Jones)
40:51 Northwestern – Ashley Sessa (Greta Hinke)
45:28 Virginia — Daniela Mendez-Trender (unassisted)
62:20 Northwestern – Lauren Wadas (Maddie Zimmer,Ashley Sessa)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Northwestern held possession for most of the first half, but the Cavaliers capitalized on their first good opportunity of the game, a penalty corner with 90 seconds remaining in the first half. Senior Jans Croon took a hard shot from the top of the circle with grad student Suze Leemans deflecting the shot into the upper corner of the net to give UVA a 1-0 lead going into the break.

Northwestern scored the equalizer 1:29 into the second half. The Wildcats then took the lead on a goal with 4:09 remaining in the third to take a 2-1 lead.

Mendez-Trendler tied the game 28 seconds into the fourth quarter, picking up a rebound off the goalie pads after an initial shot by sophomore Mia Abello on a penalty corner. The Wildcats seemed to take the lead seven minutes later, but their goal was waived off after a video review, keeping the score tied 2-2.

Northwestern had a penalty corner with 2:06 remaining, but their attempt went wide, and the game went into overtime.

The Wildcats had a penalty corner 38 seconds into overtime, but the Virginia defense blocked the attempt. Northwestern’s second corner was on the mark, with Lauren Wadas scoring to end the game 2:20 into extra time. 

FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN

“A season-ending loss is always tough. But I think if you end the season or even your career, this is how you want to end it. We left literally everything we had on the field. The grind we presented and our commitment to each other today was just unbelievable. So we did everything right and just lost against a fantastic team. So we have no regrets. I thought we played a fantastic game, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough.”

NOTES

• Suze Leemans goal was her seventh of the season and her second in the NCAA Tournament
• Nilou Lempers made five saves, matching her career high
• Daniela Mendez-Trendler scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season. She finishes the season with a team-high 20 points
• Northwestern held a 13-6 edge in shots and 9-3 edge in corners
• This was Virginia’s 15^th time advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals
• Northwestern advances to the NCAA Semifinals for the fourth-straight year where they will next face UMass