Virginia Field Hockey | No.3 Virginia Tops No.18 Penn State 5-1 in Season Opener
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 3 Virginia field hockey team (1-0, 0-0 ACC) opened the 2025 season with a 5-1 victory against No. 18 Penn State (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) on Friday (Aug. 29) at Turf Field in Charlottesville, Va.
Freshman Caroline Raynes and Lauren Sloan scored their first career goals.
Goals (Assist)
11:17 Virginia — Sloan Davidson (Mia Abello)
13:24 Virginia — Caroline Raynes (unassisted)
15:44 Penn State — Natalie Freeman (Morgan Snyder)
32:13 Virginia — Suze Leemans (unassisted)
47:59 Virginia — Amelie Rees (Lauren Sloan)
58:51 Virginia — Lauren Sloan (Lauren Kenah)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first quarter, the Cavaliers found the back of the net on two penalty corners. Assisted by junior Mia Abello, senior Sloan Davidson tipped the ball into the net to give Virginia the 1-0 lead. On the following corner, freshman Caroline Raynes scored her first career goal unassisted.
Opening the second quarter Penn State’s Natalia Freeman scored on a corner assisted by Morgan Snyder. A quiet second quarter of play ended with a green card on Penn State’s Anouk Knevers.
Graduate student, Suze Leemans wasted no time in the beginning of the second half as she found the back of the net just two minutes into the third quarter to give Virginia the edge 3-1.
Penalty corners proved successful for the Cavaliers as sophomore Amelie Rees and freshman Lauren Sloan each found the back of the net. Rees tipped the ball in with an assist from Sloan before the newcomer scored a goal of her own. Sloan sealed the deal with the fifth and final goal of the game in the 58th minute with an assist from senior Lauren Kenah.
Starting between the posts, junior goalkeeper Nilou Lempers recorded five saves with six shots on goal while Aby Deverka of Penn State did not record a single save.
NOTES
- Virginia held a 15-10 edge in shots
- Nilou Lempers recorded five saves
- Penn State goalkeeper Aby Deverka did not record a save
- Each team had eight penalty corners
- Making their collegiate debut, Caroline Raynes and Lauren Sloan both their first career goals
- Amelie Rees and Sloan Davidson each netted their second career goal
- Suze Leemans notched her eighth career goal
FROM HEAD COACH OLE KEUSGEN
“We have 11 newcomers, nine first years and everyone played today. I think we did a good job but there are a couple of things I think we need to do better. The team did a good job, particularly our first years. They carry a big load and a big responsibility already, so I am super proud of how they handled it. We need to gain more confidence. It’s tough, they will make mistakes, and we will learn our lessons at times but that is the reality of being a young team and we knew that. We took a preseason team retreat without field hockey equipment to make sure we become good teammates and have the right core values for our program so those align right away.”
ON THE HORIZON
The Cavaliers will take on Ohio State and Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 5 (4 p.m.) and Sunday, Sept. 7 (11 a.m.) in the BIG TEN/ACC Challenge in Columbus, Ohio before returning home to host JMU on Sunday, Sept.14 (1 p.m.). Admission is free for all regular season contests at Turf Field.
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