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Iowa City, Iowa – Freshman Kelsey Scherrer (Chesapeake, Va.) (pictured, right) scored two late goals to lift Virginia Commonwealth University to a stunning 3-2 upset of No. 17 Iowa Friday at Grant Field. VCU improved to 4-0 for the second time in school history and booked the program's biggest victory in at least 15 years.
“This is a huge win for our team,” VCU Head Coach Kelly McQuade said. “More than anything, it’s great for the girls to see their hard work paying off. It justifies what we’re asking of them in practice every day.” With the scored knotted at 2-2 with 8:08 remaining, Scherrer hammered a ball past Hawkeye keeper Kathleen Mcgraw from 10 yards out. Five minutes earlier, Scherrer tied the score off a feed from freshman Meg Neylon. Scherrer, a Second Team All-American last year at Cape Henry Collegiate School, leads the Black & Gold with four goals this season. The Rams were first to strike in the match. After receiving a penalty corner in the 13th minute, junior Lindsey Jones (Springfield, Va.) was able to slip a ball behind the Iowa keeper off an assist from Chelsea Hill (Virginia, Beach, Va.). The Hawkeyes answered two minutes later, when Sarah Drake scored from close range to tie the contest at 1-1. Iowa found pay dirt early in the second half, when Grace Dolfi chipped a ball past keeper Megan Botteri (Mount Bethel, Pa.) 3:48 into the period to push the Hawkeyes ahead, 2-1. Botteri, a freshman, made seven saves and overcame a 15-8 Iowa advantage in shots to win for the fourth time in as many starts. In the third year of McQuade’s rebuilding movement at VCU, the Rams victory Friday should turn heads in the field hockey community, and may create momentum in the VCU locker room. “A victory like this gives [the girls] the type of confidence to go forward as a team,” McQuade said. “The freshman class is really contributing for us. It’s getting to the point where you can’t tell who’s a senior and who’s a freshman. The Rams return to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, when they return to Grant Field to take on Stanford at 8 p.m. |
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A season ago, the Hawkeyes finished 18-4 and reached the NCAA Final Four. Iowa slips to 1-4 this season. The Hawkeyes previous three losses were all to teams currently ranked in the top 15. All rights reserved.
