No. 10 Virginia downs No. 2 Syracuse in overtime

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 10 Virginia field hockey team (10-5, 3-2 ACC) earned a 1-0 overtime victory over No. 2 Syracuse (12-2, 4-2 ACC) on Saturday at University Hall Turf Field.

Senior midfielder Lucy Hyams scored the game-winning goal 4:30 into overtime. After a penalty corner injection, junior midfielder Tara Vittese controlled the ball at the top of the circle while Hyams cut into position in front of the goal. Vittese knocked a perfect pass toward Hyams who took the shot on target to give the Cavaliers the victory over the defending national champions.

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“We knew we needed to bring our A-game for Syracuse, and I feel we absolutely did that,” said Virginia head coach Michele Madison. “We played extremely patiently. We just kept attacking the open spaces. In overtime, there was even more room, and we kept up the attack. Defensively, the backfield of Carrera Lucas, Dominique van Slooten and Anzel Viljoen came up with stop after stop. It was nice to get a top-five win after so many close games this season.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Carrera Lucas, who improved to 8-3 on the season, logged her fourth shutout of the year, making seven saves in goal. Senior Emily Faught had her third defensive save of the season.

The two teams played a balanced first half with defense dominating play as the two teams took a combined four shots before halftime. After the break, the Orange began a more aggressive attack on goal, firing off 12 shots, with Lucas making all seven of her saves in the second period. Virginia took four shots in the second half.

In overtime, Syracuse had several possessions, but was not able to take a shot. The Cavaliers’ first chance to score came on a shot by senior Caleigh Foust two-and-a-half minutes into extra time, with Nijsje Venrooy picking up a defensive save. Attempts by Vittese and Hyams were blocked before the Cavaliers were awarded the short corner that gave Hyams her scoring opportunity. Virginia held a 4-0 shot advantage in overtime.

This was the Cavaliers’ fourth overtime game of the season and their second in eight days against a top-three team. UVA has victories over Rutgers and then-No. 9 Boston College in OT, but fell 3-2 last Saturday at then-No. 3 North Carolina. Hyams also scored the game-winner at BC.

Virginia, which has won six of its last seven games, will head to Richmond on Tuesday, Oct. 18 to take on the Spiders at 5:30 p.m. before returning to Turf Field to host No. 7 Louisville on Friday, Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free for all regular-season home games at Turf Field.