The Shadow
CHARLOTTESVILLE Va. (VR) – The No. 3 Virginia field hockey team (1-0, 0-0 ACC) opened the 2025 campaign in convincing fashion Friday evening, knocking off No. 18 Penn State (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) by a 5-1 margin at Turf Field.
Two freshmen—Caroline Raynes and Lauren Sloan—introduced themselves to the home crowd in style, each recording their first career goals. Sloan, a rookie forward, added an assist before closing the night with Virginia’s fifth goal in the final minute of regulation.
Virginia wasted no time dictating the pace. Just over 11 minutes into the match, senior Sloan Davidson tipped in a penalty corner, assisted by junior Mia Abello, to put the Cavaliers on the board. Less than two minutes later, Raynes converted another corner chance unassisted to double the lead.
Penn State answered briefly in the second quarter when Natalia Freeman redirected a Morgan Snyder pass into the cage at 15:44, trimming the deficit to 2-1. That would be as close as the Nittany Lions came.
Graduate midfielder Suze Leemans swung momentum back to the Cavaliers early in the third, finding the back of the net unassisted at 32:13. From there, Virginia controlled the rest of the way.
Sophomore Amelie Rees extended the advantage midway through the fourth, tipping in a Sloan feed on another corner. Sloan then capped the scoring herself in the 58th minute, finishing off a setup from senior Lauren Kenah to make it 5-1.
Defensively, junior goalkeeper Nilou Lempers anchored the Cavaliers, collecting five saves on six Penn State shots on goal. On the opposite end, PSU keeper Aby Deverka was left without a recorded save as Virginia pressed consistently.
Virginia held a 15-10 edge in shots while both sides earned eight penalty corners.
Head coach Ole Keusgen praised the performance of his younger group, noting that all 11 newcomers saw action in the opener. “I think we did a good job, particularly our first years,” Keusgen said. “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, but that comes with time. We knew this would be a young team, and tonight was a good step forward.”
With the win, the Cavaliers build momentum heading into next week’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Virginia travels to Columbus, Ohio to face Ohio State on Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. and Rutgers on Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. The Cavaliers return home on Sept. 14 to host James Madison at 1 p.m. Admission is free for all regular season matches at Turf Field.
