CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 15 Virginia field hockey team (8-6, 3-5 ACC) drops its Senior Day contest 1-0 in a shootout to the No. 18 Louisville Cardinals (10-6, 4-3 ACC). The Cardinals beat the Cavaliers 4-2 in the shootout to earn the victory.
Goals (Assist)
Shootout (Louisville 4-2)
Louisville: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Virginia: ✓ ✓x x
HOW IT HAPPENED
The evenly contested matchup was evident from the opening whistle on Friday, as the only scoring chance of the first 15 minutes came on a UVA penalty corner just over two minutes into the frame. Each team recorded a shot off a corner in the second quarter before heading to the locker room deadlocked at 0-0.
Offensive chances increased after the break as Virginia outshot Louisville 4-2 on a trio of Cavalier corners. In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals fended off a UVA corner for the lone scoring chance of the quarter before Virginia killed off a Rylee Dennis yellow card to send the match to overtime scoreless. The Cavaliers totaled 10 shots on six corners in the extra session as
UVA played controlled play in the overtime period. Louisville’s Emily Young made six saves in overtime alone.
In the shootout, the Cardinals scored on all four attempts and stopped the Cavaliers twice to claim the 1-0 victory.
Starting in goal, Nilou Lempers made a pair of saves while Louisville’s Young totaled eight in the contest.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Virginia outshot Louisville 16-3 and held the edge in penalty corners (12-3).
- UVA falls to 0-1 in shootouts this season and 5-3 against ranked opponents in 2026.
- After the game, Virginia recognized a special group of seniors that included Ria Chhina, Mia Abello, Cassidy Thibodeau, Nilou Lempers, Emma Watchilla, Emma Giesting and Charlie Webb.
FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN
“Tough one today. We just need to score and finish the game in regulation or overtime. We had multiple very good chances. We didn’t convert on corners and we couldn’t find a way. The shootout is always a coin flip. We just didn’t find a way to win it. This senior class is a special class that has defined us for a very long time and will define our team culture for a very long time. They will be missed, but we are not done yet. We are going to the ACC tournament to win and then we will see how many games we have left.”
Nothing but love for this group 🧡💙 #GoHoos https://t.co/rK4SLzPM2M
ON THE HORIZON
Virginia will return to Chapel Hill, N.C. to compete in the 2026 ACC Championship on Nov. 3-6. Brackets for the 2026 ACC Championship will be released after the final regular-season match.