Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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16 CAVALIER CORNER medals and a giant trophy. We'd been train- ing for that for a long time and our team had worked super hard." Her favorite part of the gold-medal-win- ning experience, however, was being able to win it with her mother, Marina, in attendance. McDonough grew up in a large sports-minded family with four siblings. Her oldest brother, Nick, now 34, played ice hockey at Kentucky. She grew up playing field hockey with two of her siblings, including her twin sister, Maddie, who played at Michigan State. It is the third of the five siblings with whom Cavalier fans would be the most familiar. The year: 2016. The location: The ACC Tournament final against 19-time champion North Carolina. The time: 3:11 remaining in the first half of a tie game. Lucy Hyams took off on a breakaway, dribbling through the defense and into the circle. Hyams fired a pass that deflected off a perfectly placed stick at the corner of the cage, over the goalkeeper's shoulder into the upper corner of the next. Virginia never again trailed in the game, winning it 4-2 to claim the first ACC title in program history. That per- fectly placed stick belonged to Annie's older sister, Izzy Mc- Donough. The McDonough sisters, the owners of two of the most important goals in the program's history, played alongside one another in their respective first-year and fourth-year seasons of 2018. "I always looked up to Izzy, and we've always been super close," the younger McDonough said. "She really enjoyed her experience coming here. I knew it was such a good academic and athletic school, and I thought it'd be so fun to be able to play together." The deciding factor in choosing UVA, however, was something completely dif- ferent. "I always tell Michele [Madison] the blue turf made me want to come here. I just thought it was so cool." As she looks ahead at her final season playing on Turf Field's distinctive hue and the last go-round with the sport she has played for 17 years, she knows precisely what she wants to see from her team. "I would love to win a national champi- onship," McDonough said. "That's definitely the primary goal. And winning an ACC championship. But, I just want our team to do well. I don't want there to be any regrets among the team or for myself. "There are definitely times when I play a game, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh. I could have done more.' I don't want to leave with that feeling. I think our team looks really good this year, and I'm super excited about that." " Having Annie back really helps me. She brings maturity to the team, but I also appreciate her insight and being able to run things by her. On the field, I can play her anywhere. She reads the game and anticipates really well." UVA FIELD HOCKEY COACH MICHELE MADISON McDonough earned her bachelor's degree last May in cognitive science with a minor in entrepreneur- ship. She is currently in the professional learner program at the UVA School of Education and Human Development, taking her prerequisites to attend nursing school. (Photo by Matt Riley/courtesy UVA)