Cavaliers Now

UVA Field Hockey Takes Down No. 5 Louisville 2-0

Dani Mendez-Trendler scored two goals in the first quarter to lead the Cavaliers to a top-five win over the Cardinals

Matt Newton

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

Facing a top five opponent in a big-time ACC showdown, the Cavaliers leaned on a pair of freshman to carry them to their biggest victory of the season. 

Daniela Mendez-Trendler scored two first-quarter goals and Jet Trimborn recorded her second-consecutive shutout as No. 7 Virginia field hockey picked up a huge win over No. 5 Louisville on a rainy Friday afternoon in Charlottesville.

The impending inclement weather moved the start time up a couple of hours to 1pm, but the Wahoos came ready to play from the opening whistle. Virginia outshot Louisville 6-1 in the first quarter, with five of those shots going on cage. Louisville goalkeeper Sasha Elliott saved three of those shots, but two shots from Dani Mendez-Trendler found their way through. 

Just over two minutes into the match, Laura Janssen streaked up the right side with the ball and fed an accurate centering pass right in front of the cage, where it was tapped in by Mendez-Trendler to give the Cavaliers a very early 1-0 lead. 

UVA maintained the offensive pressure throughout the opening period and Mendez-Trendler found the back of the cage again late in the first quarter. Anneloes Knol received a pass from Mendez-Trendler on a breakaway and took a shot at point-blank range that was saved by Elliott. The ball rebounded back to Knol, who fed it inside to Mendez-Trendler, who easily swept it into the back left corner of the cage for her second goal of the match and fourth goal of the season. 

From there, freshman goalkeeper Jet Trimborn and the UVA defense did the rest. After a second quarter that saw neither team attempt a single shot, the Cardinals turned up their aggressiveness on the offensive end, attempting eight shots after halftime, including six in the fourth quarter. Three of those shots found their way to the cage, but Trimborn was there each time to make the save. Louisville attempted four penalty corners in the final period, but UVA successfully defended each to preserve the shutout and the crucial ACC victory. 

Watch the highlights from Virginia's huge win over Louisville below:

With the win, Virginia improves to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. UVA will be back in action against No. 19 William & Mary at home on Sunday at 1pm. 

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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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