Field Hockey: No. 3 UVA cruises past Temple in home opener, 7-0

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 3 Virginia field hockey team logged a 7-0 victory against Temple on Friday at Turf Field.

Three Cavaliers scored their first career goals, including junior Lauren Kenah, who netted the game-winner seven minutes into the contest. Grad student Suze Leemans scored her first career goal, as well as scoring a second goal and assisting on a third.

It was the first home game of the season for the Cavaliers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Temple (2-1) controlled possession early in the game, outshooting UVA 6-3 in the first quarter, but Virginia (2-0) made the most of its chances, with Kenah smashing in a shot midway through the first quarter to give UVA a 1-0 lead.

Leemans expanded the advantage by knocking in a rebound three minutes into the second quarter. She added her second goal five minutes later to make it 3-0.

Freshman Catalina Quinteros put UVA up 4-0 with just under four minutes left in the first half when she scored her first career goal.

The Cavaliers started the second half with the same intensity, with Nemec scoring her second goal of the season 2:19 after the break.

Sophomore Emma Watchilla made it 6-0 on a goal with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Watchilla scored again with 5:19 remaining in the fourth for the final score of the game.

GOALS
UVA: 7:05 — Lauren Kenah (unassisted)
UVA: 18:00 — Suze Leemans (unassisted)
UVA: 23:28 — Suze Leemans (unassisted)
UVA: 26:05 — Catalina Quinteros (unassisted)
UVA: 32:19 — Caroline Nemec (Suze Leemans)
UVA: 41:01 — Emma Watchilla (Emily Field)
UVA: 54:41 — Emma Watchilla (unassisted)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Seven goals are the most scored by the team in a game since an 8-1 win at Drexel in the 2018 season opener (8/24/18)
• In the first two games of the season, five Cavaliers have scored their first collegiate goals, including three first-goals by third years (Lauren Kenah, Caroline Nemec, Sloan Davidson)
• This was Emma Watchilla’s first multi-goal game
• Virginia held a 21-10 edge in shots
• Virginia goalkeeper Tyler Kennedy made five saves
• Temple goalkeeper Alex Lepore made eight saves, while Tess Muller logged a defensive save
• Temple had four penalty corners in the first quarter, then did not have another the remainder of the contest
• Temple’s head coach Michelle Vittese ’13 and assistant coach Carissa Vittese ’14 are both Virginia alumnae 

FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN

“We had a rough first quarter and were fortunate to find a way to grind it out. We put a bit more effort into the 50-50 balls. I think that made a very big difference. Out of 21 shots, we scored seven goals, which is very good. So we took care of business on that end. We practiced that a lot this week, so seeing the outcome of small things that turn out big in games was good for us.”

UP NEXT

Virginia plays at No. 11 Liberty on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Lynchburg. The game will stream live on ESPN+.