LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 11 Virginia field hockey team (3-1, 0-0 ACC) extinguished the No. 13 Liberty Flames (3-2, 0-0 Big East) in a 2-1 contest on Friday afternoon (Sept. 11) at Liberty Field Hockey Field.
Goals (Assist)
22:09 Virginia – Mia Abello (Emma Watchilla and Marisa Fahning)
37:38 Liberty – Clarisa Iudicello (Luna Prieri)
44:31 Virginia – Caitlin Connell (Unassisted)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first quarter saw four shots and two shots on goal from Liberty, with Virginia goalkeeper Nilou Lempers recording a pair of saves. UVA fended off a pair of Liberty penalty corners in the opening frame to keep the match scoreless after the initial 15 minutes of play. The Cavaliers capitalized on their only penalty corner of the contest a little over halfway through the second quarter when Mia Abello found the back net for her second goal of the season. Abello was assisted on the play by Emma Watchilla and Marisa Fahning. Virginia turned away another Flame penalty corner in the closing minutes of the first half to maintain the 1-0 advantage heading into halftime.
On the first shot of the second half, the Flames tied the match at 1-1 with a goal by Clarisa Ludicello. The tightly contested matchup continued until the dwindling moments of the third stanza, when UVA defended a Liberty penalty corner and sprung Caitlin Connell on a breakaway. The first year snuck a shot past the Liberty goalkeeper with 29 seconds left in the frame for her first goal of the season. Over the course of the final quarter, Lempers made three more saves to seal the 2-1 Virginia victory.
In goal, Lempers tied her season-high with five saves on six shots on goal. Liberty’s Diane Saint Martin recorded five saves against seven shots on goal.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- First year Caitlin Connell netted the first goal of her collegiate career.
- Fourth year Mia Abello tallied her team-leading second of the season and the 20th of her career.
- Virginia improves to 2-0 in ranked contests and 3-0 in true road games this season.
- UVA had seven shots on goal compared to Liberty’s six.
- Both teams made five saves on the afternoon.
- The Flames outshot (10-8) and had more penalty corners (5-1) than the Cavaliers.
FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN
“Today was a great bounce back win from last weekend. Super proud of how we played today. Our level of effort and execution of details was good today. On top of that, we defended well as a team today and Caitlin Connell decided the game with an incredible run and goal.”
ON THE HORIZON
UVA will host James Madison (0-3, 0-0 MAC) on Sunday (Sept. 13) for the Cavaliers’ homer opener. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will be streamed on ACCNX. The contest will also be the program’s HEADstrong Cancer Awareness Game and Youth Day. Fans will receive a Virginia field hockey schedule magnet while supplies last. Sunday’s match will also be a Sabre Rewards Event.