Field Hockey: No. 3 Virginia escapes No. 11 Liberty with 2-1 victory

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 3 Virginia field hockey team won 2-1 at No. 11 Liberty on Sunday in Lynchburg. Senior Jans Croon scored the game-winning goal off a corner with 4:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Liberty (2-1) held possession for most of the first quarter, taking two shots on goal, but senior Tyler Kennedy stopped both. Grad student Suze Leemans switched the momentum by finding the back of the net 2:04 into the second quarter to put UVA up 1-0.

Virginia (3-0) held that same advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Liberty’s Josefina Tomasi hit a reverse to tie the game, 1-1, 3:48 into the final frame.

Virginia seemingly retook the lead with 7:22 remaining, scoring off a corner, but after video review, the goal was waived off.

Croon put the point back on the board three minutes later on another corner when Croon’s shot deflected off a defender’s stick and into the net for a 2-1 advantage.

GOALS
UVA: 17:04 — Suze Leemans (unassisted)
LU: 48:48 — Josefina Tomasi  (unassisted)
UVA: 55:41 — Jans Croon (Daniela Mendez-Trendler, Emily Field)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Suze Leemans’ goal was her third of the weekend after scoring twice on Friday against Temple
• Jans Croon is the seventh different Cavalier to score a goal through the first three games of the season
• Tyler Kennedy made six saves. Michaela Skinner saved four shots for Liberty
• After Liberty outshot Virginia 3-0 in the first quarter, Virginia outshot the Flames 7-0 in the second
• UVA held a 14-8 advantage in shots for the game and a 7-3 edge in corners

FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN

“This was a very chaotic game where we never found our connection to each other. We showed great mentality at the end again and were able to convert set situations to get the win today. The team fought incredibly hard today to deserve that win.”

UP NEXT

Next weekend, Virginia plays two games in College Park, Md., taking on No. 4 Maryland on Friday and American on Sunday. Virginia returns home to host California in the ACC opener for both teams on Friday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m.