The Virginia women's soccer team finished up a successful weekend by defeating William & Mary at Klockner Stadium yesterday, 4-1. Four different Cavaliers supplied the goals, three of which came within minutes of each other.
The Cavaliers dominated the game from the opening whistle. In the 11th minute of play, Virginia sophomore forward Sarah Lane collected the ball after freshman Jessica Trainor's shot was deflected in front of the goal. Lane launched a lofty shot into the top right corner of the Tribes' net to put the Cavaliers ahead, 1-0.
Three minutes later, freshman Lindsay Gusick made a run down the field. After easily passing the lone defender, Gusick knocked in a hard, low shot into the back of the net.
The Cavaliers' offensive onslaught continued when they scored their third goal almost immediately after their second. This time senior defender Ashley Meeker redirected a corner kick into the net to put Virginia up 3-0.
In the 38th minute, freshman Taylor Wood capped Virginia's scoring by working the ball through several William & Mary defenders and putting the ball past Tribe goalkeeper Nikki Villott.
Although the Cavaliers' scoring ended with Wood's goal, the girls took several shots later on in the game that easily could have been goals. One such example was Virginia senior co-captain Lori Lindsey's shot from inside the box that skimmed the top of the net. Late in the first half, Meeker found Lane in front of the goal, but Lane's hard header went over the goal.
Virginia kept possession of the ball for a good portion of the second half, although the Tribe did threaten the Virginia goalkeeper Anne Abernethy, who replaced starter Jodi Clugston at halftime, with a few shots. Other than those few occasions, however, the Cavaliers' defense managed to shut down the Tribe. The one exception was William & Mary senior co-captain Tracy Flint's goal in the 79th minute.
The Tribe offense continued to threaten the Cavaliers, however. At one point Jordan Krieger had an open shot on Abernethy, but she kicked the ball wide right.
Virginia coach Steve Swanson was excited at the prospect of extending the season as long as possible.
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"If we work hard enough, we can keep the season going, which would be particularly good for the seniors on the team," Swanson said.
Swanson was pleased with the outcome of the game, despite noting two weaknesses in the Cavaliers' performance.
"We could have handled the lead better, and we were a little too conservative in the second half," Swanson said. "Then again, we controlled the game from the very beginning, and we put the game away."
Senior co-captain Lori Lindsey mentioned the effect that Virginia's devastating 3-2 penalty kick loss to Florida State in the ACC tournament on Nov. 9 had on this weekend's play.
"Florida State gave us even more motivation and determination for our [NCAA] tournament games," Lindsey said.
Both Swanson and Lindsey emphasized how in tournaments, the favored teams don't necessarily win.
"That's the beauty of the tournament - anything can happen," Swanson said. "No one can take any other team for granted."
The Cavaliers have not been told who their next opponent will be nor where the game will be played.
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