No. 1 North Carolina 6, VCU 0
RICHMOND, Va. -- Top-ranked North Carolina scored early and often Sunday afternoon at VCU en route to a 6-0 victory against the host Rams. Playing at Cary Street Field, the Tar Heels stayed undefeated with the shutout, improving to 8-0 on the season. VCU fell to 2-5.
Junior Loren Shealy scored the game-winner in the fourth minute of play, deflecting in a ball from sophomore Emma Bozek. Thirty-two seconds later, Shealy helped make it 2-0, driving into the circle and sending a ball to the cage, where junior Abby Frey tipped it in from the left side. In the 16th minute, freshman Lauren Moyer scored on a pass from junior Charlotte Craddock to put UNC up 3-0.
In the 28th minute, freshman Kristy Bernatchez scored the first of her two goals on the day, grabbing a rebound and putting it past VCU goalkeeper Megan Botteri to make the advantage 4-0.
In the 31st minute, on one of six first-half penalty corners, sophomore Nina Notman sent a hard shot into the goal, assisted by sophomore Emily Wold on the stick stop and graduate student Janne Grove on the push-in.
Two minutes before halftime, Bernatchez got her second goal of the day to put the halftime score at 6-0. That would remain the final, as the Tar Heels didn't score on any of their eight second-half shots, four of which were on-goal and saved by Botteri.
No. 2 Maryland 2, Michigan 0
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Second-ranked Maryland shutout future conference opponent Michigan 2-0 on Sunday in its final game of a three-week homestand. The Terrapins (8-0, 1-0 ACC) gritted out the victory against a tough Michigan squad that had won three in a row.
Sophomore Sarah Sprink put Maryland on the board first when she slammed one in off a penalty corner set up by freshman Mieke Hayn and senior Hayley Turner in the 14th minute.
Senior Ali McEvoy made it a two-goal lead for the Terps in the 21st minute with a shot off a penalty corner. Junior Katie Gerzabek notched an assist on the play.
The Terps and the Wolverines (4-4) were even in shots with 13 apiece. Michigan threatened to get on the board throughout the second half, as the Terrapins were down a player for nearly a 10-minute stretch after Gerzabek was awarded one in the 49th minute and Shelby Sydnor was given one in the 54th minute.
Maryland goalkeeper Natalie Hunter anchored the Terrapinsā defense with five saves. Michigan keeper Haley Jones had seven stops. The Terps were awarded six penalty corners to Michiganās five.
No. 3 Connecticut 2, Rutgers 0
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Anne Jeute scored her fifth goal of the season and Chloe Hunnable added her seventh to lead No. 3 Connecticut to a 2-0 victory against Rutgers on Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J. With the win, UConn improves to 7-0 on the season while RU slips to 3-4.
UConn is now 26-2-1 all-time against Rutgers and Huskies have won 13 consecutive games against the Scarlet Knights. In fact, Connecticut has not allowed Rutgers to score in the previous five games between the two squads with UConn outscoring the Scarlet Knights 21-0 during that span.
UConn has won its previous six Big East openers, dating back to a 3-2 loss against Villanova on Sept. 16, 2007.
Jeuteās second goal of the week, which she scored 14:07 into the contest, was all the Huskies would need on Sunday. She collected the loose ball in the Rutgers circle and knocked it past Sarah Stuby and into the back of the net. Jeute is now second on the team with five goals, three assists and 13 points.
Hunnable, UConnās leading scorer, gave the Huskies some insurance 13 minutes into the second half. After the Huskies had created one of their 11 penalty corner opportunities, sophomore defender Roisin Upton received the ball at the top of the circle and dished to Hunnable who struck a shot past Stuby to all but put the game away.
No. 4 Virginia 2, No. 13 Northwestern 1
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Fourth-ranked Virginia closed out the weekend with a 2-1 victory against No. 13 Northwestern on Sunday at Turf Field.
The victory was Virginia's third win against a ranked opponent this season with the Cavaliers improving to 8-1. It was also the second consecutive game in which the Cavaliers had to face a ranked opponent after falling 2-1 to No. 1 North Carolina on Friday. The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for the Wildcats who fell to 8-2 on the season.
Freshman Caleigh Foust scored the game-winning goal with 5:06 remaining in the game after senior Hadley Bell rifled a pass from the top of the circle. Foust was perfectly positioned in front of the net to flick in the shot past the diving goalkeeper.
Virginia got off to a fast start on the attack, earning five penalty corner opportunities in the first eight minutes of the game, but Northwestern's defense clogged the circle, blocking four of the attempts with goalkeeper Maddy Carpenter saving the fifth.
Virginia's first score also came after a foul with Foust drawing a whistle right in front of the net after being interfered with by the goalkeeper, setting up a penalty stroke for senior Carissa Vittese. Vittese converted the stroke, smashing her shot in high over the goalie's shoulder to give UVa a 1-0 lead a little more than 12 minutes into the game.
No. 5 Syracuse 4, No. 6 Princeton 0
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Serra Degnan scored two of the Orange's four first-half goals that led No. 5 Syracuse (7-1) to a 4-0 shutout victory versus defending national champion and sixth-ranked Princeton (4-2) on Sunday afternoon at J.S. Coyne Stadium. The win runs the Orange's home winning streak to 39 games, dating back to 2009.
Degnan, a freshman from Wyoming, Pa., netted the first two goals of her collegiate career, while Leonie Geyer and Alyssa Manley also scored for Syracuse, which rebounded well from its first defeat of the season, 6-3 at No. 17 Boston College on Friday.
The Orange used a strong performance in the opening half, outshooting the Tigers, 8-2 and scoring all four goals between the 10th and 27th minutes.
Geyer started the scoring in the 10th minutes when she took a pass on the right side of the circle from Lindsey Nerbonne, dribbled in and scored from a sharp angle. It was the reigning ACC Player of the Week's sixth goal of the season and ran her scoring streak to four consecutive games.
In the 19th minute, Princeton goalkeeper Anya Gersoff (six saves) made the stop on a blast from the top of the circle off the stick of Jordan Page, but Degnan was there at the left post to stuff home the rebound for her first career goal, making it 2-0.
Degnan struck again just 2:13 later when she tipped in a shot by Laura Hahnefeldt on a penalty corner, extending SU's lead to three. In the 27th minute, the Orange tacked on its fourth goal when Manley deflected home another Hahnefeldt shot on a penalty corner, making it 4-0.
No. 7 Massachusetts 5, Hofstra 1
AMHERST, Mass. -- Seventh-ranked Massachusetts tallied a 5-1 victory against the Hofstra Pride at Garber Field on Sunday afternoon. Brooke Sabia recorded two goals to spearhead the offense while Allie Sabia, Lauren Allymohamed and Charlotte Verelst earned one apiece.
Hannah Prince secured a pair of assists while Lindsay Bowman, Molly MacDonnell, Alexa Sikalis and Courtney Spleen added one helper each. The multi-goal game for Brooke Sabia was the fourth of the season for her as she leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 22 points on a conference-best 11 tallies.
Brooke Sabia opened scoring in the 11th minute with a penalty corner goal. Allymohamed followed up with her third of the year to double the UMass advantage. Directly following a penalty corner, Prince controlled possession and flicked the ball to Allymohamed at the goalmouth, with Allymohamed pushing a shot into the right side of the cage, past Hofstra goalie Kaitlyn De Turo.
Leading by two goals at the halftime break, the Minutewomen (7-2 overall) opened the final stanza with back-to-back strikes to push the lead to 4-0. Allie Sabia tallied her first goal of the season at the 39:08 mark on a shot attempt into the right side following a pass across the front of the goal by Bowman.
Four minutes and seven seconds later, Brooke Sabia earned her second tally of the game following a pass by MacDonnell across the goalmouth.
Hofstra (3-6) got on the board with 4:40 remaining to play. However, the Minutewomen extended their lead back to four goals following a penalty corner in the final minute of the game. After the initial shot by Brooke Sabia was saved, Spleen corralled the loose ball and sent a pass between De Turo and the cage to Verelst at the left post for the 5-1 final score.
No. 9 Duke 6, Radford 0
DURHAM, N.C. -- Five different Blue Devils registered goals as ninth-ranked Duke topped Radford 6-0 in non-conference action on Sunday at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.
Duke (6-2) out-shot the visiting Highlanders 37-2 for the contest, with eight different players combining for 19 shots on goal. The six goals marked the highest scoring output of the season by the Blue Devils, while the 37 shots were the most by a Duke team since the program tallied 38 in a 10-1 win against Appalachian State Oct. 25, 2008.
Senior Brenna Rescigno struck first for the Blue Devils, converting on a penalty corner opportunity in the fifth minute of the match. Redshirt senior Devon Gagliardi found junior Jessica Buttinger open at the back post just a few minutes later to quickly make it a 2-0 Duke advantage.
The Blue Devil defense and midfield continued to create offensive opportunities throughout the first period, setting up a pair of goals off of penalty corner opportunities. Graduate student Cherry Seaborn punched in a touch from Rescigno in the 18th minute and sophomore Hannah Barreca made it 4-0 in Dukeās favor just before the end of the half.
Strong outlet passing and aggressive play up front resulted in Dukeās fifth goal at the 23:53 mark in the second half, as Gagliardi scored off of a pass from freshman Hunter Bracale. An own goal by Radford following a great run downfield by freshman Heather Morris capped the 6-0 Blue Devil victory.
Senior forward Emmie Le Marchand and junior midfielder Abby Beltrani finished with two assists each on the day while Gagliardi and Bracale each had one.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Blazing picked up the win, posting one save in the contest, while senior Ashley Camano also saw time in the cage during the second half.
No. 10 Iowa 6, Kent State 0
KENT, Ohio -- Tenth-ranked Iowa defeated Kent State (4-4) 6-0 on Sunday afternoon at Murphy-Mellis Field.
The Hawkeyes (5-3) wasted no time as Natalie Cafone scored 1:49 into the game. After out-running her defender, Cafone beat the Kent State goaltender on the back hand to put the visitors on top. Iowa added to its lead as Marike Stribos scored off a rebound at the 11 minute mark.
Kelsey Mitchell added to the visitor's advantage at the start of the second half, scoring back-to-back goals in under two minutes to put the Hawkeyes up by four.
Cafone followed suit by scoring back-to-back goals of her own a little more than two minutes apart. Cafone's two goals gave her a hat trick and put the Hawkeyes up, 6-0.
Goalkeeper Kelsey Boyce had five saves on the day to post her third shutout of the season.
