Rutgers falls in OT at No. 9 Virginia
Sep 14 | Field Hockey
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (September 14, 2014) – Rutgers got two goals from Katie Champion (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) and held a two-goal lead in the second half, but were unable to hang on, falling in overtime to No. 9 Virginia 4-3. Rutgers dropped to 4-2 on the season with the loss.
“I thought Rutgers played better hockey than Virginia for much of the game,” head coach Meredith Long said. “We controlled a lot of the possession and our defense was outstanding. Unfortunately they got two penalty strokes and were able to capitalize. It wasn’t the result we wanted today, but I’m very proud of the way we competed today.”
Virginia got on the board first, with Tara Vittese scoring her third goal of the year 3:04 into the game. From there, Rutgers was able to shift momentum back to their side.
Rutgers earned a penalty corner less than 16 minutes into the half, with Champion set to take it. Off the set piece, she received the ball from senior captain Sophie Wright (Devizes, United Kingdom) and buried it to tie the game at 1-1.
Ten minutes later, Champion would score again to give Rutgers the lead. After an initial save by the Virginia goalkeeper, the ball was knocked in by Champion’s stick to give the Scarlet Knights a 2-1 advantage. Virginia outshot the Scarlet Knights 13-5 in the first stanza, but Shevaun Hayes (Melbourne, Australia) made five stops to keep RU in the lead going into the locker room.
Rutgers would add to the lead just after halftime, taking advantage of another corner. Champion inserted the ball, and Jenn Staab (Marmora, N.J.) stopped it to Sofia Walia (Surrey, British Columbia). Walia finished the goal for her fourth goal of the season and a 3-1 lead.
At the 47:14 mark of the game, the Cavaliers were awarded a penalty stroke. Vittese would take it for UVA and score, tallying her second goal of the game to cut the RU lead to 3-2.
With just 7:37 showing on the clock and RU defending fiercely, UVA earned its second penalty stroke of the game. Vittese stepped to the spot again and converted, scoring her third goal of the game to tie the score at 3-3.
Rutgers pressed at the end of regulation, but a defensive save by Jeannie Blackwood on a Staab shot kept the ball out and sent the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Caleigh Foust netted the game-winning goal for the Cavaliers, scoring her seventh goal of the season in the game’s 82nd minute.
For the game, UVA held a 34-11 advantage in shots, including a 7-1 edge in the overtime period. Hayes made a season-high 12 saves. The team combined for four defensive saves, including two by Walia and one each from Staab and Wright. Virginia also held a 13-6 advantage in penalty corners.
Next weekend Rutgers field hockey will make its Big Ten Conference debut. The Scarlet Knights will welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes to Piscataway for the Big Ten opener at noon on Sunday.
GAME NOTES:
- Champion recorded the second multi-goal game of her career, with the first coming earlier this season (Aug. 31) against Sacred Heart.
- Champion now has 12 points on the season, a new career-high.
- Her four goals on the season tie her career-high, set last year.
- Champion scored two goals and had three assists (seven points) on the two-game road trip
- Walia scored her fourth goal of the season, setting a new career-high.
- Walia is tied with Champion and Nicole Imbriaco (Clark, N.J.) for the team lead.
- Rutgers went into overtime for the second time this season, previously beating Bucknell 3-2 in overtime in the season opener.
- Hayes currently has 42 saves on the season, setting a new career-high (39 last season as a freshman).
- Last season Rutgers took two ranked opponents into overtime, both also resulting in losses.
- Rutgers scored on 50 percent of its shots on goal, the highest percentage of the season.
