Monday Motivation: Virginia field hockey upsets #1 Duke

Happy Monday, Wahoo fans! There was a lot of action in the past week, so let’s get straight to it!

Rapid Fire

-First and foremost, a heartfelt congratulations to former Virginia Basketball star Anthony Gill and his wife, Jenna, on the birth of their daughter Alexandria “Andi” Raine Gill!! I’m not sure there’s ever been anything cuter.

Gill is currently playing with Khimki in Russia after competing with Yesilgiresun in Turkey last season. Best of luck to AG, Jenna, and baby Andi!

-The #8 ranked women’s soccer team knocked off #5 Penn State 3-2 on Sunday afternoon thanks to some stellar goals from the home team.

The three goals scored by Courtney Petersen (my goodness, that strike), Betsy Brandon, and Phoebe McClernon were all their first of the season. Virginia is now 5-2 on the season (both losses by a goal).

Next up, the Hoos face their first ACC test as they head to NC State on Friday for a 7pm kickoff. The game will be broadcast online on ACC Network Extra.

-Get out there and vote for fourth year football player Micah Kiser to be the Lott Trophy Impact Player of the Week as he had 14 tackles and two sacks in the loss to Indiana.

-The #11 Men’s soccer remained undefeated (3-0-1, 0-0-1 ACC) after picking up a 2-1 (OT) win over UNC-Wilmington and getting a 2-2 (2OT) draw with #7 Syracuse.

Against UNC-W, the Hoos got out to an early lead on a goal by Edward Opoku, but the Seahawks - who upset #2 UNC the game before - equalized in the 68th minute. In overtime, Sergio Nus got the game winner off of a corner kick, pushing Virginia’s unbeaten streak at Klöckner to 19 games.

The Hoos played another game beyond 90 minutes as they welcomed #7 Syracuse to town, but neither team could take advantage, ending in a draw. The Orange led 1-0 after the first half, but goals from Pablo Aguilar and Jean-Christoffe Koffi gave the home team a 2-1 advantage that would last until Cuse’s Jonathan Hagman tied it up in the 83rd minute.

Still, that’s 20-straight non-losses at Klöckner, which is awesome.

Next up, Virginia will host Marquette on Tuesday in a game aired by ACC Network Extra. Kick-off is slated for 7pm.

-Mark “The Sheriff of Swattingham” Reynolds blasted his first career grand slam this week, helping the Rockies complete a four-game sweep of the Dodgers.

-The men’s and women’s basketball teams held a shoe and clothing drive on Sunday to gather items to donate to those who have suffered as a result of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the past couple weeks.

Well done by the Hoos helping out. The men’s basketball season kicks off on November 10th against UNC-Greensboro at JPJ in Charlottesville.

Team of the Week

When the #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils came into Charlottesville on September 8, no opponent had scored a goal on them yet this season. That all changed when Tara Vittese and the Wahoos took the field. Vittese opened and closed the scoring for Virginia as the Cavaliers cruised to a convincing 4-1 victory.

Greta Ell and Rachel Robinson also scored for the Hoos, while goalkeeper Carrera Lucas had eight saves and just one goal against a Duke squad that was averaging just under three goals per game.

The #10 Hoos followed up their signature win with a 6-1 drubbing of Michigan State on Sunday. Vittese added two more goals, bringing her season total to a whopping 16 goals. The NCAA hasn’t updated their stats since September 7 (pre-Duke win), but at that point Vittese had 12 goals...no one else had more than six goals. Safe to say she’s the leading contender to three-peat as POY.

Wahoo of the Week

Reliever and former UVA baseball standout Sean Doolittle was traded to the Washington Nationals in an attempt to bolster the DC squad’s bullpen. Well, it worked. He’s currently rocking a 2.25 earned run average and is a perfect 17-for-17 in saves since joining the Nationals in late July. Oh, and he’s now officially going to the playoffs, along with former Wahoo, current National teammate Ryan Zimmerman.

Doolittle is a treasure.

Plus, he repped the orange and blue after he struck out the side for the win...that gets you a spot in the StLMMWotW Hall of Fame (certificate is in the mail, Sean).

Go Hoos!