'Keep Closing the Gap': Inside Miami's Breakthrough to the Elite Eight

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Earlier this week, Miami Field Hockey head coach Iñako Puzo called Lucia Ventos' double-overtime game-winner in last Saturday's MAC Tournament championship game 'one of the most important goals in Miami history."

Well, it has company now.

Justina Intzes' goal off a penalty corner in the third period Friday afternoon lifted the RedHawks to a 2-1 upset victory at fourth-seeded Virginia and into the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time in program history. Justina Intzes at Virginia

Miami defeated the ACC regular-season co-champion Cavaliers, who brought an impressive 16-2 record into the game, for the first time in 14 all-time meetings and will face Northwestern Sunday afternoon with a trip to the Final Four on the line. This marks the fifth consecutive year that the RedHawks (16-4) have won a game in the NCAA Tournament, but the deepest the program has ever advanced into the bracket.

"When we talk about competitive goals in our programs, we mention two things: One is to dominate in the MAC and the second is to close the gap with the most traditional teams," Puzo said after the win over Virginia, where he served as associate head coach for two seasons before coming to Miami in 2011. "We try to do that all year-round. We play [a difficult non-conference schedule] because we want to keep closing the gap. If you go back 10 years or even farther than that, it seems like each year is baby steps.

"You set everything up for days like yesterday, where everything really matters…and it takes a long time. We've been here many, many years and in similar situations, and basically, you have to keep knocking on the door until you open the door…

"In order to close the gap, you have to put yourself in positions to challenge yourself. That's what we do with our schedule in the regular season. Then, when the time comes, you put everything on the table to win it all."

The Red and White trailed less than three minutes into Friday's game, but evened the score on Malena Sabez's goal with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter. With her back to goal, Intzes relayed a pass to Sabez as part of a set play on the penalty corner, and Sabez's instincts took over from there.

Malena Sabez at Virginia

"The second defender jumped into Malena and didn't let her take the shot like we wanted, but it's Malena: She has the IQ and quickness to make a decision in one second and do something different in that moment," said Puzo. "So she pulled the ball to the left outside the defense's reach and took an amazing shot.

"It was a great goal…the good thing about yesterday and this team is the way we react [after not playing well in the first five minutes]…we woke up. We were able to win the momentum, and then keep it for the majority of the rest of the game."

That set the stage for Intzes' heroics, as the freshman midfielder made a remarkable individual effort to set up the eventual game-winner. She muscled a 50-50 ball away from Virginia's Charley Nemec, circled all the way around the Cavalier back, and then somehow split two UVA players in a figure-eight-style run to push forward across the midfield line. What appeared for a moment to be a one-on-five break for Intzes, weaving in and out of opponents, eventually drew a whistle against the hosts for obstruction near Miami's attacking 25-yard line. And it didn't take long after that for Ventos to fling the ball into the circle and earn the penalty corner that proved to be the difference for the Red and White.

"It feels amazing scoring a goal like that against a team like UVA," Intzes said of the penalty-corner finish. "We watched them and knew they were good against APCs. And, of course, all the team made that APC for me, so it felt really good."

Miami would only get four penalty corners in the match, but the RedHawks converted on half of them. Perhaps even more impressively, Puzo's team held Virginia to just three penalty corner attempts, stifling every chance the Cavaliers had over the final 21 minutes en route to closing out the victory.

"You can have the best game plan and have the best attitude, but if you don't have the talent, it's difficult to come away with a win," said Puzo. "I think this Miami team has at least the same level of talent that UVA or any other team in the nation does...our speed has been showing constantly since the first preseason scrimmage."

Intzes' goal was her 20th of the season, which is a remarkable number for a freshman. In fact, it would be the most any Miami freshman has ever scored and the highest total in the nation this year by a freshman…if not for teammate and classmate Sabez, who collected her 24th of the year less than a half hour earlier. Sabez and Intzes entered the day as the only freshmen in the country among the top 39 goal-scorers nationwide, and the Argentine duo continued their stellar debut seasons with goals on the biggest stage imaginable in college field hockey – the NCAA Tournament.
Malena Sabez and Justina Intzes

"She's my best friend," Intzes said of Sabez, who she's known for a decade as the pair grew up playing field hockey in South America. "In Argentina, we didn't score that much, but we're here and scoring a lot of goals, especially on APCs. It's crazy!"

"Even though we have a lot of freshmen coming in this year, we're a team with a lot of experience," Ventos pointed out earlier this week. "They've had a lot of years playing field hockey —Argentina, Spain, wherever— so I think that helps a lot.

"We're a very experienced team, and you can just feel it."

"We have a strong freshman class, but it comes with a lot of experience," agreed Puzo, who has now won seven NCAA Tournament games in his 11 appearances with the RedHawks. "They have a big resume. They play in big championships and national teams and big leagues. So yes, they're young in terms of their school year, but they are old in terms of their hockey experience. That's what gives us the opportunity to move through the changes of momentum in a game…

Miami Field Hockey celebrates win over Virginia

Miami Field Hockey celebrates win over Virginia

"They're having fun," he added when asked how his team keeps finding the back of the cage. "It's very important for a team to have fun and to have fun together. I said in our meeting last night, 'This team is different, and you know it in the way that we celebrate.' We celebrate with each other. You see it in social media and the photos: There is always hugging and smiling and laughing. [Even after games we've lost], this team still stayed together and kept having fun."

"I didn't know how huge a thing this is, that we made history for Miami, until all my teammates told me," Intzes said. "But I'm very happy for the team. I don't even know how to explain it in words. We are very united; we get along really well off the field, and that is what we show inside the field."

On the cusp of the Final Four for the first time ever, Miami now turns its attention to the familiar hurdle and longtime nemesis that stands between the Red and White and next weekend's national semifinals. That would be Northwestern, a program that has appeared in the national title game each of the past four seasons (winning two) and a team the RedHawks have faced six times in the last five years alone. The Wildcats have defeated the RedHawks in each of the past 14 meetings, including the last three NCAA Tournaments, and the two programs met in Louisville, Ky. only two months ago (a 5-1 Wildcat win).

"We always talk about it: You embrace and let all the feelings of the result happen to you, but you have 24 hours to go through those feelings," Puzo said Saturday. "Yesterday was an exciting day and an exciting win, but then you have to push the reset button in the morning and start from zero… Inako Puzo at Virginia

"Northwestern is an amazing team, with all of the national championships and national championship games over the past five years, but we believe in ourselves. We believe that we can compete at this level, and we believe that the gap with more traditional programs like Northwestern keeps getting smaller and smaller.

"We just have to play our best hockey tomorrow. Be ready tactically, physically, mentally – and just show up."

It might seem like the odds are stacked against Miami to make history on Sunday.

But as the RedHawks have already proven in Charlottesville once this weekend, making history is what they do best.

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Miami Field Hockey takes on Northwestern Sunday at 1 p.m. in a national quarterfinal in Charlottesville, Va. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, and tickets are available here.

All photos in this story are by Ellie Reynolds

'Keep Closing the Gap': Inside Miami's Breakthrough to the Elite Eight

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Malena Sabez

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