CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 11 Virginia field hockey team (4-1, 0-0 ACC) shut out the James Madison Dukes (0-4, 0-0 MAC) 7-0 on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 19) at Turf Field.
Goals (Assist)
11:03 Virginia – Emma Watchilla (Lauren Sloan)
26:11 Virginia – Caitlin Connell (Unassisted)
28:47 Virginia – Mia Abello (Penalty Stroke)
32:49 Virginia – Livvy Barker (Caitlin Connell)
46:58 Virginia - Catalina Quinteros (Emma Watchilla)
47:51 Virginia - Caitlin Connell (Amelie Rees, Mary Adams)
57:50 Virginia - Mary Adams (Unassisted)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia put in a full-team effort in the home opener, with six different Cavaliers finding the back of the net in an offensive clinic. In the first 15 minutes, Virginia outshot James Madison 5-1, highlighted by an Emma Watchilla goal deflected in off a penalty corner. The Dukes had a goal waved off to open the second quarter before Caitlin Connell scored the first of her two goals on the afternoon. Mia Abello put an exclamation point on the first half as the fourth year scored on a penalty stroke with just over a minute remaining before halftime.
The incredibly talented first year class was on display to open the second half as Connell found a wide-open Livvy Barker with a pass that Barker buried to make it a 4-0 contest. Virginia kept pressing deep into the final frame as Catalina Quinteros put away a loose ball in front of the JMU cage for UVA’s fifth goal of the match. Connell’s second goal of the afternoon came off a penalty corner with 12 minutes left in regulation before Mary Adams capped off the 7-0 Virginia victory with her first goal of the day.
Starting in goal, Virginia’s Nilou Lempers played the first 45 minutes and did not record a save before being relieved by Emma Giesting at the start of the fourth quarter. Giesting also did not tally a save. James Madison’s starting goalkeeper Lilly Sweeny made five saves and surrendered seven goals.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Fourth year Emma Watchilla scored her first goal of the season and 13th of her career.
- First year Caitlin Connell scored her second and third goals of the season, while also recording an assist.
- Fourth year Mia Abello scored her third goal of the season and the 21st of her career.
- First year Livvy Barker scored her second goal of the season.
- Third year Catalina Quinteros scored her second goal of the season and the seventh of her career.
- Second year Mary Adams scored her first goal of the season and the fifth of her career.
- Virginia dominated in shots (21-1), shots on goal (13-0) and penalty corners (9-2).
- James Madison held the edge in saves, 5-0.
- Virginia’s seven goals are the most that the Cavaliers have scored in a match since scoring seven against Temple in 2024.
FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN
“We played an okay first half and started fast in the second half. We ended up scoring a lot more and we got a lot more chances. The way we played initially was good against a team that is not very deep and is sometimes boring, but that is just the nature of them sharing the ball and sometimes it is boring. We worked on our patience and put it all together today.”
ON THE HORIZON
UVA will open ACC play on the road with a pair of matches against No. 9 Duke on Friday (Sept. 18) and No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday (Sept. 20). Both Matches will be streamed on ACCNX.