Late UVA Goal Hands Syracuse First Loss; Two Teams Meet Again Sunday

Friday, October 2

Charlottesville, VA

3 PM

Syracuse University

(0-1, 0-1ACC)

Virginia

(2-1, 2-0ACC)

Syracuse

Virginia

Photo by: UVA Athletics

Late UVA Goal Hands Syracuse First Loss; Two Teams Meet Again Sunday

10/2/2020 5:47:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Charlottesville, Va. – The Syracuse field hockey team (0-1, 0-1 ACC) showed a strong defensive effort in Friday's season opener holding Virginia scoreless through the first 58 minutes of action. Virginia's Laura Janssen netted the only goal of the game with 1:24 remaining in regulation to hand the Orange their first loss of the season. Syracuse and Virginia will play again on Sunday in a non-conference game.

The Cavaliers were aggressive from the start holding a 4-1 advantage in shots in the first quarter. SJ Quigley came up big for the Orange with a defensive save in the opening minutes of play to keep the scoreboard even at one. Moments later freshman Sienna Pegram juggled a shot off the goal line to prevent a Cavalier goal, recording the first defensive stop of her Syracuse career.

Syracuse's pressure increased in the second quarter and the Orange edged UVA 5-3 in shots but were unable to find the back of the goal. By halftime, UVA held a 7-6 advantage in shots and both teams were tied with two penalty corners apiece.

The Orange had the only penalty corner opportunity in the third quarter and UVA held a slight 2-1 advantage in shots but neither team had a shot on goal in the frame and with 15 minutes to play the scoreboard still read 0-0.

Syracuse outshot the Cavaliers 5-4 in the final frame but Janssen's shot at 58:36 during a Virginia corner was all it took. Amber Ezechiels was credited with the assist and UVA was able to hold off a late offensive push from Syracuse as the clock struck zero.

Syd Taylor tallied four saves in her season debut in goal while the team tallied six saves. Freshman Carly Bothof and Eefke van den Nieuwenhof led the Orange with three shots apiece while Charlotte de Vries and Florine van Boetzelaer each had two.

Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley started four freshman in Friday's season opener, three of which recorded at least one shot, while Pegram made one of two defensive saves for the Orange.

The two teams meet again on Sunday, Oct. 4 in Charlottesville for a non-conference game. Game time is set for noon. Fans can stream the game live on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) via the WatchESPN App.

To stay updated on Syracuse field hockey all season long, follow @CuseFH on Twitter and Instagram.