Last year’s field hockey team ended their ACC Tournament bid with a hard-fought overtime loss to Syracuse, 3-2. Syracuse went onto win the 2015 NCAA Championship.
Saturday afternoon, No. 10 Virginia turned the tables against No. 2 Syracuse, upsetting the Orange (12-2, 4-2 ACC) with a 1-0 win in overtime.
The Cavaliers (10-5, 3-2 ACC) played in their fourth overtime game this season and their second in the past eight days. Last Saturday, Virginia fell in overtime to No. 3 North Carolina.
The match was scoreless during all of regulation at University Hall Turf Field. Sophomore goalkeeper Carrera Lucas recorded her fourth shutout of the year with seven saves in goal in order to prevent Syracuse from taking a lead. Senior defender Emily Faught contributed to Virginia’s success with her third defensive save of the season.
Lucas made all seven of her saves in the second period, as Syracuse took 12 shots after a defense-dominated first half that saw only a combined four shots from both teams before the intermission.
In overtime, the Cavaliers held a 4-0 shot advantage over the Orange, but didn’t score until 4:30 into the overtime period. Senior midfielder Lucy Hyams accepted a perfect pass from junior midfielder Tara Vittese after a penalty corner, and was on-target to score the winning goal.
With Virginia’s victory, the team has won six of their last seven games. The Cavaliers travel to Richmond Tuesday to take on the Spiders at 5:30 p.m. Virginia then returns to Turf Field to take on yet another nationally ranked ACC opponent when they take on No. 7 Louisville Friday at 5:30 p.m.
