The No. 5 Virginia women's soccer team captured the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic with a pair of wins over the weekend, 3-1 over No. 3 UCLA (3-2-0) on Friday and 5-2 over South Carolina (4-3-0) yesterday.
Midfielder Sarah Huffman was named the tournament's most valuable player because of her tireless work on the ball, along with scoring the tournament-winning goal in the 90th minute of the Gamecocks contest. Up to that point, the Cavaliers (6-0-0) and the Maryland Terrapins, also 2-0 in the tournament, were tied with a plus-four goal differential, but Huffman's goal broke the deadlock.
The Cavaliers dominated the Bruins on Friday, controlling possession for most of the game. Forward Lindsay Gusick opened the scoring in the 18th minute, taking advantage of a semi-breakaway created by a strange deflection off of a punt from Cavalier goalkeeper Christina de Vries.
The lead was extended to 2-0 before halftime by freshman Sarah Curtis on a one-timer set up by defender Jessica Trainor. Gusick put away the game in the 66th minute by tucking the ball into a vacant net after beating Bruins goalkeeper Valerie Henderson. UCLA ended de Vries' career shutout streak at 542 minutes late in the second half, but the game's outcome was never in doubt.
In the first half of yesterday's game, Gusick noted that the Cavaliers were still "coming off of Friday night." The Gamecocks took advantage of this fact and claimed the lead in the 21st minute. Forward Ashley Williams took a seemingly innocuous shot on a sharp angle from outside the box, but de Vries could not handle it and the Cavaliers trailed for the first time this season.
Virginia pulled even nine minutes before the break on a foul in the box drawn by Foley. The resulting penalty kick was calmly converted by defender Gillian Hatch.
At halftime, Virginia coach Steve Swanson told the team to "spread [South Carolina] out, move the ball," according to Foley. In the second half, the Cavaliers executed on the plan, outscoring the Gamecocks 4-1.
Foley gave Virginia a lead it would not relinquish nine minutes into the second half, faking past two defenders and Gamecocks goalie Lindsay Thorstenson before putting the ball into an empty goal.
Less than two minutes later, midfielder Kelly Hammond put the Cavaliers ahead 3-1 on a tic-tac-toe passing play culminating with a powerful right-footed finish.
Williams tallied her second goal of the game to cut the Gamecocks' deficit to one, but Gusick reestablished a two-goal cushion with her third of the tournament on a first-touch strike.
Huffman concluded the scoring on a breakaway created by a long ball over the top from Hatch, a goal more important than it seemed in the context of the game.
Foley factored in the first four Virginia goals yesterday, drawing the foul that led to the first goal, scoring the second and assisting on the last two.
"I kept getting good balls," Foley said. "It was a team effort, we are so comfortable playing with each other."
Despite the early-season success -- Virginia's second-best start in school history -- Swanson warns against looking past the next game.
"It can make teams' seasons to beat us," Swanson said.
The Cavaliers will travel to Williamsburg for a tournament next weekend, looking to avoid an upset before entering the heart of the ACC schedule.
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