On Sunday in University Park, Pa., the Virginia women's soccer team dropped its third-round match of the NCAA Tournament to the host Nittany Lions of Penn State, 3-0. After two NCAA victories the weekend before, Sunday's disappointing defeat ended the Cavaliers' season and bid for a national championship.
Despite the setback, Virginia concluded the season with a solid 13-7-2 record, an impressive feat for a team that lost over half its players from the 2000-01 squad. Further, the Cavaliers' early success in the NCAA's indicates a successful perseverance through mid-season frustrations. Beginning their ACC season with a surprising 0-3 record, the Cavaliers rattled off four consecutive wins to finish a respectable 4-3 in the competitive conference.
Two weeks ago, having completed its regular season 11-6-2, the young Cavalier squad received a ninth consecutive invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Entering the competition with the memory of their most recent game -- a first-round ACC Tournament loss to Duke -- and facing an opponent on the road in Morgantown, W.V., the Cavaliers overcame such disadvantages to emerge victorious over both Dayton and No. 5 West Virginia.
In its NCAA Tournament opener Nov. 15, Virginia faced Dayton. Falling behind 1-0 in the second half, Virginia rallied to defeat the Flyers 3-2, scoring three goals in just over 10 minutes. Less than two minutes after Dayton got on the board, freshman midfielder Sarah Huffman tied the game with a searing shot off a rebound. Virginia took the lead several minutes later when senior forward Darci Borski connected on a pass from sophomore forward Lindsay Gusick. The Cavaliers added a final goal when the forward duo struck again. This time, Borski assisted on a Gusick goal.
Two days later, Virginia drew No. 5 West Virginia, which enjoyed the advantage of playing in its home stadium. In an offensively stagnant match played in torrid rainfall on a muddy field, junior forward Sarah Lane scored the game's sole goal just before halftime.
"That game proved to be very taxing," senior defender Kelly Worden said. "It showed us what we are made of because we had to overcome many obstacles to come out on top -- the weather, the crowd, the refs. It showed us a lot about ourselves and proves that we are here to stay."
Coach Steve Swanson, in his third season at the helm of the program, agreed.
"Sunday was great team effort.To go away from home, play on a very difficult surface and in very difficult weather, and upset a seeded team was a tremendous effort," Swanson said.
This past weekend, Virginia, ranked 23rd, traveled to No. 12 Penn State for Sunday's showdown. The Nittany Lions were returning to their home venue following a trip to College Park, Md. There, Penn State defeated Princeton 2-0 in the first round before beating home-favorites' Maryland, 2-1.
Meanwhile, the trip north was the Cavaliers' sixth road trip in as many weekends.
"There's always a little bit of an advantage to playing at home," Worden said. "But overall I think it comes down to who comes out to play that day. Once the whistle blows, it doesn't matter where you're playing -- the focus is on the game. Whoever guts it out and lays it on the line will win this game."
Unfortunately for Virginia, Penn State turned out to be the team with the bigger gut. The Nittany Lions led 2-0 at halftime, Virginia's largest halftime deficit of the season.
"I think obviously giving away two goals in the first half was significant," Swanson said. "To go down 2-0 to a team like Penn State away from home makes it very difficult in the second half."
In the 72nd minute, the Nittany Lions scored on a rebound off the goalpost, adding a final goal to their tally.
"I think in a couple of weeks we will all feel better about the season and how far we came as a team," Swanson said. "We all felt that our performance Sunday was nowhere near our best and that's difficult to accept right now."
But Swanson also noted important season accomplishments.
"We came through some difficult stretches.We were 0-3 in the ACC but we turned that around.We bounced back from the loss in the first round of the ACCs to play well in the NCAAs," he said.
Meanwhile, graduating only four seniors, the Cavaliers boast 19 players with remaining eligibility, an exciting prospect for next season.
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