Cavaliers Now

Late Surge Lifts No. 7 UVA Field Hockey Past No. 19 William & Mary 3-0

The Cavaliers scored three goals in the final ten minutes to defeat the Tribe on Sunday

Matt Newton

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

If you looked only at the shots category of the box score, you wouldn't be surprised to find that the Cavaliers defeated the Tribe 3-0 after outshooting them 24-0 in the match. However, you might be surprised to know that the match was tied at 0-0 for the first 51 minutes. UVA finally broke through for three goals by three different goal scorers and the No. 7 Virginia field hockey team defeated No. 19 William & Mary 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Turf Field in Charlottesville. 

Virginia dominated in every single stat category except for saves, which William & Mary led 6-0, as goalkeeper Maddie George did everything she could to keep the Hoos out of the cage. UVA attempted 13 shots in the first half, four of which went on goal, but all were blocked by George to keep the match at 0-0. This performance was somewhat par for the course for Maddie George, who entered this week as the nation's leader in save percentage at 0.853. UVA also had seven penalty corners in the match, but was unable to convert any of them for goals. 

Even as the Cavaliers had scoring chance after scoring chance, the match went to its final period with the scoreboard still showing zeroes. Finally, with just over eight minutes left in regulation, UVA was able to punch one through. Freshman midfielder Daniela Mendez-Trendler, the hero of Friday's 2-0 victory over No. 5 Louisville with two goals, had the game-winner again on Sunday as she maneuvered her way into the circle and took a swing, sending the ball into the top left corner to give the Cavaliers the lead. 

The flood gates opened for the Virginia offense after that. Just 50 seconds later, UVA was awarded a penalty stroke and sophomore Taryn Tkachuk converted to double the Cavalier lead. Then with just over two minutes left, junior midfielder Meghen Hengerer put the finishing touches on the win by taking a swing on a bouncing loose ball and skipping it past George and into the back of the cage. 

The win was Virginia's fourth-consecutive victory, all of which have come against ranked opponents. UVA improves to 7-3 overall and will return to ACC play on Friday at No. 22 Duke. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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