Virginia wins in opener

Led by Ashley McCulloch’s four goals and four assists, Virginia put together an offensive barrage and the No.4 Cavaliers got off to exactly the kind of start they hoped for with a 19-3 runaway victory over Virginia Tech on Wednesday — the earliest season opener in the program’s history.

“We played sharp and kept playing the Virginia style,” said head coach Julie Myers. “To get everybody through the rotation without seeing much dropoff was really nice to see as well.”

Josie Owen’s hat trick highlighted a strong first day from the Cavaliers’ highly-regarded freshman class in chilly temperatures at Klockner Stadium. The freshman seems to have quickly found her role within an offense that features a number of prolific goalscorers.

“She’s definitely going to help us this year and be a key contributor,” said McCulloch. “She’s really good around the goal and at getting loose balls. She’ll definitely help around the crease.”

Freshmen Julie Gardner and Bailey Fogarty also got in on the act and notched a goal each for the Cavaliers. Ainsley Baker, a redshirt freshman, had two assists.

Virginia outshot the Hokies 26-8 before the break while jumping out to a 10-2 halftime lead and never looked back. Owen got the scoring started less than three minutes into the game on a dish from McCulloch. From there, senior All-Americans Blair Weymouth and McCulloch kicked things into high gear with McCulloch feeding Weymouth twice on goals that came 18 seconds apart and put Virginia up 3-0.

A few minutes — and a few goals — later, Weymouth returned the favor, setting the table for McCulloch. Virginia then struck quickly again, scoring 18 seconds later off the ensuing draw as Weymouth finished off a Baker pass to complete her own hat trick. With Virginia up 8-1, the rout was on. As usual, McCulloch and Weymouth played well off of each other throughout the game.

“They always position themselves close to each other so that if there’s a clear through then it’s going to Blair as the draw and dump player with [McCulloch],” Myers said. “They kind of get the other players in the right spot so they can do their thing and intensify their effectiveness.”

Weymouth poured in her hat trick and dished out a pair of assists. Whit Hagerman also had three goals while Kaitlin Duff added two of her own.

While the Virginia offense dominated, the defense was equally strong. Redshirt sophomore goalie Lauren Benner, in her first collegiate start, looked solid in net, making four saves on six Virginia Tech shots on goal. Virginia also didn’t seem to lose much when senior Sara Hairfield stepped in for Benner late in both halves.

But Virginia’s defensive unit made things easy on the goalies, forcing a number of turnovers by Virginia Tech and closing quickly on any open shooters. The Hokies had 17 turnovers in the first half alone and finished with 27 for the game.

On Saturday, Virginia will travel to face Loyola (Md.) before returning home to take on Richmond next Wednesday. After that, a Feb. 27 meeting on the road against No.2 Syracuse looms.