The Greyhounds came into frigid Charlottesville, Va., with only one thought on their minds: conquering the No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers on their own field. And that’s just what they did. Loyola, ranked No. 9 by the latest IWLCA poll, used a five-goal run in the second half to pull away from the Cavaliers and win their opener 16-12.
Junior Hannah Schmitt led the Hounds with a career high of 6 goals, five of which came in the second half.
In the first half Loyola got off to a slow start, falling into a quick 3-0 hole forcing a Loyola timeout, before Taryn VanThof scored her first goal of the season with 14:18 left in the first half. Shortly after the Greyhounds pulled within a goal when Marlee Paton, Loyola’s two-time All-American, fed Molly Hulseman at the crease and converted the score. Paton would lead the team in points with two goals and five assists.
Nearing the midway point in the first half Virginia pushed their lead back to two goals when Courtney Swan converted a free position goal to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Both teams would be held scoreless till the final minute of the first half until Virginia’s Maddy Keeshan would score to push the Cavaliers lead back to three.
Loyola responded quickly however when Schmitt notched her first goal of the game just 10 seconds later. After a first half that was highlighted by strong defensive play but plagued with sloppy ball handling on offense, the Greyhounds only trailed by two goals.
When the second half started the Hounds that came out of the locker room looked very different than the ones that entered it, quickly reeling off two goals by VanThof and Schmitt to tie the game at five. Virginia’s Casey Bocklett would score a free-position goal to regain the lead for the Cavaliers but it would prove to be their last advantage of the game. Sydney Thomas scored just over a minute later to spark an 8-1 run by the Greyhounds. Paton scored twice during the run and added three assists including a feed to VanThof to complete her hat trick.
The Greyhounds began the run with three straight goals, only to be briefly interrupted by Courtney Swan’s second goal of the game for Virginia.
Loyola responded quickly though, scoring two and a half minutes later to start a 5-0 run, effectively putting the nail in the coffin. Maddy Keeshan scored again for the Cavaliers midway through the second half to cut the deficit to five, but would score back-to-back goals shortly after to extend the lead.
Virginia was able to pull together a mini 4-1 run in the last five minutes of the game but it proved to be too little too late.
The Greyhounds earned their ninth all-time win against the Cavaliers and move to 1-0 on the season. Loyola’s defense proved to be a tough test for Virginia, holding the Cavaliers to 12 goals on 30 shots.
Molly Wolf had a tremendous day in the cage, notching 11 saves including stopping two very important free position shots late in the game.
The real difference maker in the game was Loyola’s draw controls, while they split with the Cavaliers 15 for 15, controlling draws has been a troublesome area for the Hounds in recent seasons. Taryn VanThof had six for the Hounds and Paton three.
Loyola returns home for their second game of the season on Saturday when they face Princeton.