VCU’s field hockey team scored more goals against Yale than they had scored all season, downing the Bulldogs 4-2 Sunday at Cary Street Field.
Head coach Shelly Behrens said she believes this is a sign of things to come.
“To be able to find the back of the net is something I know we’re capable of,” she said following the game. “They’ve raised my expectations. It is hard to surprise me and they surprised me.”
Amanda Kelly (Chesapeake/Great Bridge High School), Rebecca Bosler (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne), Heather McCannon (Lanexa/Lafayette High School) and Nikki Lloyd (Kent, England) were the goal scorers Sunday for the Rams, who were shut out by the Temple Owls on Friday.
Yale took the lead about 10 minutes into the game when a shot was smacked past VCU goalkeeper Becca Leuzzi (Virginia Beach/Ocean Lakes) into the back of the net.
After the Bulldogs blocked a shot, the Rams rebounded with less than 17 minutes left in the first half when multiple players got in close to fight for the ball, and Kelly, a sophomore, chipped it in for VCU’s first goal.
Captain Ashley Cadwallader (Fairfax/Fairfax High School), a junior midfielder, commented on the Rams suddenly surging offense.
“I think we all just had a lot of heart,” she said. “We played really well in the circle and we were really scrappy. We found a way to finish and fought hard for each other no matter what, and I think that’s really the end result.”
No less than two minutes later, the Rams flew down the field on a breakaway, getting off a shot that was blocked, but Bosler collected the rebound and fired a shot into net to give the Rams a 2-1 lead.
Bosler, a sophomore, said they stepped it up offensively due in large part to them playing together and communicating.
“I think that today was the first time that we really played like a team,” she said. “We did really well, I was really happy.”
Midfielder McCannon looked like a sharpshooter, scoring on a well-placed shot that bounced off the keeper’s pads and into the net with eight minutes left in the first half. That goal proved to be the game winner.
After looking relatively sluggish on offense in the first half, the Bulldogs made their presence known, harassing VCU with multiple shots. The Rams played well, breaking up plays and stymieing the Yale forward’s attempts to score.
Yale cut the lead to 3-2 when Heather Orrico managed to squeeze a shot through Ram defenders and into the goal.
The goal would not be enough for the Bulldogs, and VCU added a fourth goal of the game for insurance when freshman Lloyd received a pass from Cadwallader and knocked it in.
Cadwallader praised the freshman, who leads the team with three goals on the year.
“(Lloyd)’s a great asset to our team,” she said. “I think she really helped us out with a lot of things and I’m really glad to have her as a part of our team. We really all work well together.”
The victory brings VCU to 2-4 on the year, but Bosler said this victory is what is needed to turn the season around.
“We all stepped it up after our loss on Friday,” she said. “I definitely think it’s different from now on. All we needed was a win.”
The field hockey team looks to keep the victories coming when they host Radford University on Friday, Sept. 23.