Buckeyes, Orange pose test for Cavs

By Allen Kha

The third-ranked U. Virginia field hockey team travels to Norfolk, Va. this weekend to face No. 12 Ohio State Saturday and No. 9 Syracuse  the next day.

The Cavaliers (4-0) are coming off two convincing home victories against No. 16 Old Dominion and unranked Northwestern last weekend. Junior midfielder Paige Selenski’s performance earned her ACC Player of the Week honors as well as National Player of the Week honors from womensfieldhockey.com. Selenski scored six goals during the two Labor Day weekend contests.

“Paige is the goal-scorer, but the defense deserves recognition, too. They stepped up with a shutout [against Northwestern],” coach Michele Madison said. “Our defense played with confidence, and that’s important for our team.”

Virginia will need its defense to shine again against talented and ranked Ohio State (3-1) and Syracuse (3-1) squads.

Ohio State is led by junior midfielder Aisling Coyle and senior forward Jena Cacciatore. Coyle has been a force offensively for the Buckeyes this year, leading the team with nine points, 13 shots on goal and 23 shots. She is tied for the team lead in goals with Cacciatore, who scored the game-winner against Ohio in the Buckeyes’ season-opener Aug. 31.

Syracuse is led by two-time All-American senior forward Lindsey Conrad — who played one season at Richmond before transferring to Syracuse — and freshman midfielder Leonie Geyer. Both lead the team with six points.

Against this stiff competition, freshman back Chloe Pendlebury said the Cavaliers will need to remain level-headed.

“We’re going to need to run that extra yard [this weekend],” she said. “We are deep and have a great defense, but we need to stay consistent and maintain our composure against the better teams.”

Madison is confident that her team’s next two opponents will help her squad prepare for stiff competition later in the season.

“Old Dominion played big-ball hockey against us and we started to play that style too,” she said. “We need to be able to play our game, emphasizing possession. Conference play is a long ways away. We have a few more weeks to improve and develop everyone and must focus on that.”

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