Olympic Sports Roundup: Hopkins’ hat trick keeps Hoos unbeaten

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Haley Hopkins delivered her first hat trick for the Cavaliers on Sunday, scoring three times in the first 14 minutes, to help No. 8 Virginia to a 5-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson at Klöckner Stadium.

GOALS
6’ – UVA: Haley Hopkins (penalty kick)
9’ – UVA: Haley Hopkins (Alexa Spaanstra)
14’ – UVA: Haley Hopkins (Alexa Spaanstra)
27’ – UVA: Laney Rouse (unassisted)
56’ – UVA: Lia Godfrey (unassisted)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia (4-0-0) got off to the hot start with a hat trick from Haley Hopkins in the first 14 minutes of the game. It started with a penalty kick in the sixth minute before Alexa Spaanstra and Hopkins would connect twice over the next eight minutes.

The first of two connections came in the ninth minute with a ball played through the midfield  by Spaanstra ahead to Hopkins making a run on goal. Hopkins picked it up in stride and struck across the face of the goal and in past the back post. The second connection came in the 14th minute when Spaanstra took a shot that was deflected to Hopkins and who put the deflection in the net for the hat trick.

The fourth goal of the half came from Laney Rouse as she collected a ball that FDU (0-4-0) knocked to her on the right wing in a clearance attempt. Rouse took the shot from just outside the box and put it in the upper 90 on the far side.

Virginia’s fifth goal came in the 56th minute when Lia Godfrey scored on a free kick from 25 yards out.

NOTES

• The Hopkins hat trick was the first for UVA since Diana Ordoñez against Rice (5/5/21) in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Alexa Spaanstra’s two assists moved her to sixth all-time in assists at Virginia with 31 for her career.
• Junior defender Laney Rouse scored her first collegiate goal with her strike in the 27th minute of play.
• Michaela Moran made her first start since Washington State (11/22/19) in the second round of the NCAA tournament that year and picked up her fifth career win with the victory on Sunday.
• Junior defender Samar Guidry made her first appearance for the Hoos after missing the start of the season in duty with the U.S. U-20 Youth National Team at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

FROM HEAD COACH STEVE SWANSON

“We certainly started the game well and it was nice to see some goals go in, but as the game wore on we were not able to keep a consistently high tempo in terms of our ball movement which led to transition moments for them (FDU). I do think there are some good takeaways from this game on both sides of the ball. We are obviously still growing as a team, so taking the lessons away from games like these are very important for our growth.”

UP NEXT

Virginia will continue to play at home on Thursday when the Cavaliers host JMU as part of a doubleheader with the men’s team. Kick is set for 5 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

Field Hockey: No. 12 Virginia prevails 4-1 on the road at No. 17 Delaware

The No. 12 Virginia field hockey team picked up a 4-1 victory against No. 17 Delaware on Sunday at Fred P. Rullo Stadium in Newark, Delaware.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a scoreless first period, the Blue Hens (1-1) got on the scoreboard first with a goal five minutes into the second quarter. Freshman Daniela Mendez-Trendler evened the score with a second-chance goal with 6:29 remaining in the half. Mendez-Trendler collected a rebound off the goalie’s pads and tapped it into the cage for her first collegiate goal.

The Cavaliers (1-1) came out on fire in the second half. Sophomore Taryn Tkachuk knocked in a pass from junior Meghen Hengerer on the far post to spot UVA to a 2-1 lead 1:29 into the half. A minute later, senior Laura Janssen scored off a penalty corner to make it a 3-1 advantage. Janssen added a second penalty corner goal 1:04 into the fourth quarter to give Virginia a 4-1 lead. Sophomore Jans Croon assisted on both of Janssen’s goals.

Sophomore Tyler Kennedy logged four saves.

NOTES

• Delaware had an 8-4 edge in penalty corners
• Both teams took 14 shots. Virginia had nine on-goal
• Laura Janssen also scored at Penn State, giving her three goals in the first two games of the season
• This was Janssen’s first multi-goal game since scoring two against Wake Forest on Nov. 5, 2020. It is the third multi-goal game of her career
• Jans Croon had a goal against Penn State to go with her two assists in this game to give her four points on the year
• Daniela Mendez-Trendler is the second Cavalier to score their first collegiate goal on this road trip, following Croons’ goal against Penn State
• Taryn Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal
• Virginia had 22 players see time in the game

FROM HEAD COACH MICHELE MADISON

“It’s great to get our first win here on the road taking on a competitive Delaware team. Once we established our passing game, it lead to scoring situations. We had nice action in front of the goal. It was a solid defense by the back line again with Jans Croon, Madeline Orsi, Emily Field and Lindsay Dickinson to handle a huge counterattack offense by Delaware. It’s always good for the team when everyone can get minutes.”

UP NEXT

Virginia returns home for a pair of matches next weekend, beginning with its home opener on Friday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. against Temple.

Volleyball: Cavaliers finish runners-up in Gainesville

After winning its first two matches of the season, the Virginia volleyball team fell to No. 15 Florida, 25-11, 25-7, 25-18, in the final match of the Gators Invitational at the O’Connell Center Saturday night.  With a record of 2-1, the Cavaliers finished runners-up at the tournament with wins over ETSU and North Florida.

Jayna Francis and Abby Tadder were named to the all-tournament team.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• With the score tied 4-4 in the first, the Gators (3-0) tallied five straight points to swing momentum in their favor early on. Later in the set UF fired off eight straight points to lead by as many as 14 (23-9) before closing out the set, 25-11. Grace Turner posted four of six kills in the opening frame.
• Florida carried its momentum into the second, leaping out to a 10-3 lead before the Cavaliers (2-1) signaled for time. The Gators continued to leave their foot on the gas and closed out the second on a 5-0 run, which they won, 25-7.
• Coming out of the break, the Cavaliers displayed composure and hung with the Gators throughout. A huge block from GG Carvacho and Tadder tied the set, 10-10. However, the Gators scored five of the next six points, which proved to be too much of a deficit for UVA to overcome as UF went on to win set No. 3, 25-18, and the match.

NOTES

• The Gators extended their lead to 4-0 in the all-time series.
• Jayna Francis and Abby Tadder were named to the Gators Invitational all-tournament team.
• The Gators out-hit UVA .521 to .141, and posted 43 kills to the Cavaliers’ 24.

UP NEXT

Virginia travels to Xavier to face the Musketeers (Sept. 2), Purdue Fort Wayne (Sept. 3) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 3).

Men’s Soccer: Virginia hosts Rider Monday night

The Virginia men’s soccer team (0-1-0) looks to earn its first win of the new season when the Cavaliers host Rider (0-1-0) at Klöckner Stadium on Monday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Monday’s match against Rider will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com for customers who have the ACC Network as a part of their television subscription. Live stats are also available and links to both the live stats and broadcast are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAMenSoccer).

TICKETS AVAILABLE

Fans can purchase single-game tickets in advance online at UVATix.com. Reserved seats purchased in advance are $12, and general admission tickets are $8. UVA athletics strongly encourages fans to avoid lines on game day and purchase their tickets online in advance. Single-game tickets will be $15 at the gate on game day for reserved seats if available and $10 for general admission seats. Group packages for parties of 20 or more are $6 and are available for purchase over the phone in advance only.

General admission season tickets are also on sale for $40.

MATCH NOTES

• In their last outing, the Cavaliers (0-1-0) fell to Xavier by a score of 1-0 despite not allowing a single shot until the 86th minute of play. The Hoos outshot Xavier by a margin of 19-3.
• Eight Cavaliers made their Virginia debuts in the opener.
• The Cavalier’s eight-game win streak on opening night was snapped on Thursday.
• The last time Virginia lost its first game of the season was in 2013, a year in which the Cavaliers advanced to the NCAA Semifinal round.
• Under head coach George Gelnovatch, Virginia holds a record of 86-32-7 immediately following a loss.
• Virginia has opened a season with consecutive losses in just two of its 26 campaigns under Gelnovatch.

THE SERIES WITH RIDER

• The Cavaliers have matched up with Rider on just two occasions, recording wins in both.
• Both prior matches were held at Klöckner Stadium.
• Virginia has outscored the Broncs by a combined margin of 5-0.
• The last time the two opponents met was in the first round of the 2015 NCAA tournament. Virginia dispatched the Broncs by a score of 2-0 and advanced in the tournament.

NOTING THE BRONCS

• Rider (0-1-0) fell in its season opener by a score of 3-0 on the road at Seton Hall. The Broncs conceded all three goals in the first half.
• The Broncs were picked to finish second in the MAAC behind their conference rivals, Marist.
• In 2021, Rider posted a record of 10-7-3 and fell in the MAAC Championship to Marist who claimed the title on penalty kicks.