Sept. 6, 2006

Box Score

The Cavalier defense allowed just one shot to Radford, and at the other end of the field scored on four short corners in the second half to defeat the Highlanders 5-0 tonight (Sept 6) at University Hall Turf Field. Offensively the No. 11/14 Hoos (3-1) were led by Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn's hat trick and Traci Ragukas' six points, as the first-year right forward was a part of four of the goals, notching two goals and two assists. Biffy Cornelison notched an assist on each of Kaars Sijpesteijn's goals.

Virginia attacked early, penetrating the 25 and gaining field position. As Radford tried to clear the ball, Ragukas jabbed the ball away and Mia Link collected it at the 25, attacked the circle, and drew a short corner. The Cavaliers kept up the pressure, and in the 10th minute, Ragukas stole the ball at the 25, took it into the circle and shot. She collected her own rebound and scored, putting Virginia up 1-0.

The Cavaliers kept up the pressure, earning two more short corners midway through the first half. Radford was able to counter and drew a short corner in the 17th minute, but the Highlanders failed to get off a shot and the teams traded possessions. Both sides had a short corner in the waning minutes of the first half, with Ragukas entering the circle and giving UVa an opportunity that was knocked aside by Radford keeper Megan Stucke. Radford earned their second short corner of the half with just over a minute to play, but again the Cavalier corner defense stymied the Highlanders and the teams went into the break with Virginia holding a 1-0 lead.

Radford threatened early in the early moments of the second half as Tiffany Church collected a loose ball in the Virginia D and got off a shot that went wide that almost tied the game for the Highlanders. Virginia was able to clear the 25 and at the other end of the field, Ragukas brought the ball into the circle and gained a long corner. Kaars Sijpesteijn took the ball into the circle on the right, drawing a short corner. The first attempt by Lindsay O'Bannon was saved over the endline, giving UVa another long corner, this time in the upper left corner. Link drove the endline and entered the D where she drew another short corner. On the play, Kaars Sijpesteijn rocketed a shot to the boards, putting UVa up 2-0 in the 47th minute.

Radford took the centre pass and immediately attacked up the middle, drawing a short corner. The Cavalier corner defense did not allow them to get off a shot, but the Virginia free hit was intercepted by the Highlanders, who re-entered the circle and drew another short corner. Again the Virginia defense stopped the Highlanders, and the Cavaliers cleared the ball.

In the 57th minute Sara Confer stole the ball at midfield and sent it up to Link, who penetrated the 25 and then the circle, drawing a short corner. The direct strike was saved by Stucke, but Link pounced on the loose ball and sent it over to Ragukas at the left post, who tipped the ball into the cage for her second goal of the night.

With time winding down, the Virginia offense continued to pressure the Highlanders, and Link again penetrated the circle where she drew a short corner. Again Kaars Sijpesteijn rocketed the shot to the boards, putting UVa up 4-0 in the 68th minute. A minute later Link stole the ball at midfield and attacked up the right side of the pitch, before feeding Ragukas at the 25. Ragukas sent the ball over to Kaars Sijpesteijn, whose entry pass into the D hit a foot, giving the Cavaliers a short corner as time expired. Again Kaars Sijpesteijn's direct strike found the boards, giving her a hat trick , her first in a Cavalier uniform. Cornelison notched her third assist and Ragukas recorded her sixth point on the night as both assisted on the goal.

For the third time in four games, the Cavaliers held their opponents to five shots or less, and Virginia has now held their opponents to less than four shots a half in seven of the eight halves of play in 2006. Kaars Sijpesteijn is the first Cavalier to notch a hat trick since Katie Phillips scored four goals against Ball State in August of 2005. Cornelison also had three assists in the Ball State game last year.

The Cavaliers return to action as they host the Wildcats of Northwestern on Thursday (Sept 7) at 6:00 at University Hall Turf Field.

Linescore	1	2	F
Radford	        0	0	0
Virginia	1	4	5
Scoring summary
9:43: UVa, Ragukas, fg
46:50: UVa, Kaars Sijpestiejn, pc (Cornelison, Taylor)
57:45: UVa, Ragukas, pc (Link)
67:28: UVa, Kaars Sijpesteijn, pc (Cornelison, Ragukas)
70:00: UVa, Kaars Sijpestiejn, pc (Cornelison, Ragukas)
Keepers: UVa: Desjadon (35 mins, 0 saves, 0 GA); Blair (35 mins, 0 saves, 0 GA)
	Radford: Megan Stucke (70 mins, 7 saves, 5 GA)
Shots: VA 15, RU 1
Short corners: VA 9, RU 4