After scoring only five times in its first four games, Virginia was able to get its offensive groove back this weekend.
The No. 18 Cavaliers (4-1-1) upset No. 2 Santa Clara, 4-1, Friday night and shutout No. 22 Southern California, 3-0, yesterday afternoon to win the Virginia Soccer Classic at Klöckner Stadium.
"When you finish, it makes a big difference," coach Steve Swanson said. "We've played well throughout the season. This weekend, we did a good job finishing our chances."
Against the Women of Troy yesterday, the Cavaliers jumped to an early lead after Kelly Hammond blasted a low shot into the right hand corner of the net to put Virginia up 1-0.
"We wanted come out hard and set the tone right away," Hammond said. "It really put them back on their heels and forced them to come back at us right away and spread their team out."
Sophomore forward Lindsay Gusick added two late scores to cement the victory for Virginia, but Hammond's early tally was all the Cavaliers needed, as senior goalkeeper Anne Abernethy notched her second shutout of the season.
"Anne has been superb," Swanson said. "Our defense has played well all year. We've done a good job keeping opponents from penetrating. But against teams like Santa Clara and USC we can't expect to allow no shots. Anne really came through for us today with some big saves -- it was exactly what we wanted from her."
Abernethy had a few impressive stops on the day, including a diving grab on a loose ball in the box at the start of the second half and a point-blank save on a breakaway with less than 30 minutes remaining in the game.
The rest of the Virginia defense helped Abernethy's cause, holding the Women of Troy to only three shots over the entire 90 minutes.
The Cavaliers have gotten the job done defensively all year, letting up only four goals in six games and never giving up more than one goal in any single game.
"Our defense has played really well for us," Gusick said. "We know we can't expect to get a shutout every time, but with our defense, it's nice to know we probably will get one."
Yesterday's victory marked the first time Virginia had won its own tournament since 1999. Sophomore Noelle Keselica received Most Valuable Player honors for her performance in the tournament. Keselica had a goal and an assist in the two games.
Friday night against Santa Clara, the Cavaliers fell behind early, 1-0, on a breakaway goal, but Keselica answered back for the Cavaliers only four minutes later, blasting a shot through Bronco goalkeeper Alyssa Sobolik's legs.
The score remained tied at the half, and stayed deadlocked with less than 20 minutes remaining, but Hammond was able to break the tie with 15:59 to go. Freshman forward Ariel Thompson added two more goals for the Cavaliers late in the game.
"These wins were huge," Abernethy said. "Hopefully this is a turning point for us. We showed that we can definitely play with the nation's top teams, and I'm confident that we will be able to keep it up for the rest of the year."
The victory against Santa Clara tied a Virginia record for the highest ranked opponent the team has ever beaten. Virginia also defeated the No. 2 team in the country in 1999 bringing down defending champion Florida, 2-1, in overtime at Klöckner.
The two wins move the Cavaliers to 4-0 on the season at home, but Virginia has yet to find a win on the road. The Cavaliers will try to snap that streak next weekend at the Dartmouth Adidas/Hypertherm Tournament, where they will take on Harvard and host Dartmouth.
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