Season Preview: Virginia Field Hockey

The 8th-ranked Cavaliers are picked to finish third in the ACC in 2021

Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics

The Virginia Cavaliers field hockey team advanced to NCAA Semifinals in 2019 after defeating Maryland on an overtime goal by Annie McDonough. It was UVA’s fifth appearance in the semifinals in program history and the first since 2010. The Cavaliers’ season ended in the semifinals with a 2-1 loss to Princeton, but the future was bright, as many of the key contributors on that 2019 team were underclassmen at the time.

UVA struggled to maintain that momentum in a Covid year that was split into a fall and spring season. The Cavaliers went 7-11 overall in 2020-21, including a 4-7 record in the ACC and did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament last spring.

Despite the down year, there are high hopes for the UVA field hockey team heading into the 2021 campaign, as Virginia was picked to finish third in the ACC behind North Carolina and Boston College. The UVA roster is loaded with talented and experienced players looking to lead the Cavaliers back to the Final Four.

Roster

At every position on the field, Virginia is spoiled with veterans who have had decorated careers at UVA.

Senior Peyton Tollaksen and junior Jaura Janssen are back at the striker position. Tollaksen started eight games last season and scored the game-winning goal against JMU in March, while Janssen led the team in scoring with nine goals and was an All-ACC Second Team, NFHCA All-South Region team, and ACC All-Tournament performer last year.

Senior midfielder Greer Gill has 47 career starts and made the ACC All-Tournament team in 2019. Another senior, Annie McDonough, joins Gill at midfield. McDonough has made a habit of scoring goals at the most critical times, notching two game-winners last season as well as the overtime goal against Maryland in the quarterfinals of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Junior midfielder Adele Iacobucci had eight goals last season and earned a spot on the ACC All-Tournament Team and NFHCA All-South Region First Team. Iacobucci was also named to the 2021-22 US Women’s National Field Hockey Team.

Graduate student and three-time captain Rachel Robinson leads the defensive line. Robinson was First-Team All-ACC in both 2019 and 2020 and was the 2019 ACC Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first Cavalier to win the award since 1998. Makayla Gallen, another graduate student and captain, was named to the ACC All-Tournament team and scored two game-winning goals in 2019. Senior back Amber Ezechiels was a NFHCA Second-Team All-American in 2019 and 2020 and was an All-ACC First Team performer last year.

Finally, graduate student Lauren Hausheer is set to return as the starting goalkeeper for the Hoos. Hausheer started all but one game last season, making 50 saves with a .649 save percentage. In 2019, Hausheer had a .744 save percentage, which ranked second in the ACC, as well as a 1.00 goals against average, good for first in the ACC and third in the country.

Schedule

The Cavaliers will play a 17-game schedule this fall, with 13 of the 17 matches coming against teams ranked in the top 25 of the NFHCA National Coaches Poll.

The Cavaliers will play six ACC games and 11 non-conference games, including three games against teams from the Big Ten. Virginia will host No. 16 Penn State on August 27th in their season opener, play at No. 22 Ohio State on September 19th, and host No. 9 Maryland on October 7th.

Virginia will play two matches against William & Mary (at home on Oct. 20 and on the road on Sept. 3) and No. 18 Old Dominion (at home on Sept. 26 and on the road on Oct. 17).

UVA’s other non-conference games are at home against No. 17 Delaware (Aug. 29), Towson (Sept. 5), No. 21 Miami (Sept. 10), and Drexel (Oct. 24).

Virginia’s home conference games are against No. 12 Duke (Oct. 1), No. 7 Boston College (Oct. 9), and No. 1 North Carolina (Oct. 29) in the regular season finale.

The Cavaliers’ road conference games are at No. 5 Louisville (Sept. 17), at No. 11 Wake Forest (Sept. 24), and at No. 14 Syracuse (Oct. 22).

Virginia, ranked No. 8 in the NFHCA National Coaches Poll, certainly has their work cut out for them with their 2021 season schedule, but the Hoos have the talent to have a successful season and make another run at a national championship.