Cavalier midfielder Shannon Foley was poised over a corner kick early in the second half of yesterday's contest with Clemson when teammate Sarah Huffman ran over. Huffman changed the play and called for a set piece, which proved to break the scoreless deadlock.
Off the corner, Cavalier midfielder Noelle Keselica scored the game-winning goal in yesterday's 2-0 victory for No. 4 Virginia (13-2-1, 5-2-1 ACC) over No. 24 Clemson (10-6-0, 4-4), breaking the Cavaliers' seven-game losing streak to the Tigers.
The Cavaliers came out firing on Senior Day, taking play to the Tigers by controlling possession in the midfield. Virginia's Kristen Weiss drew a penalty kick six minutes in, but senior defender Gillian Hatch had her shot denied by Clemson goalkeeper Lauren Johnston.
Clemson took its first shot 34 minutes into the half, after which the game opened up and both sides had numerous chances. The game was highly physical, with one caution issued to the Tigers and 16 total fouls in the first half.
Despite Virginia's 6-2 shot advantage and territorial domination, the score was tied at halftime.
"I just thought we needed to play with a little more urgency," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said of what he told his team at the break. "I just felt we needed to go in and go for the win. Really, you have a different mentality in the second half."
Huffman continued to generate chances at the start of the second half, including a ball that found Foley one-on-one at point-blank range. However, Clemson's Johnston once again foiled the Cavaliers, and the game remained scoreless.
Nearly 13 minutes into the second half, Virginia finally got on the scoreboard. Huffman, taking the corner in place of Foley, played a short corner to Foley, who found Katie Bunch open at the right edge of the box. Bunch sent a perfect cross over the Tigers' Johnston that found Keselica for a tap-in header.
"We spend a lot of time on set plays, both offensively and defensively," Huffman said in reference to the game-winning goal. "The way they [Clemson] set up for the corner kick left that play on, so we decided to run that."
Virginia continued to create chances after Keselica's tally, but could not extend the one-goal lead. With about 20 minutes remaining in the game, Clemson started to push defenders forward, relegating Virginia to the counterattack, which was successfully executed seven minutes later.
Cavalier freshman Julia Falk, who came on as a defensive substitute for Huffman midway through the second half, sent a diagonal ball to a streaking Lindsay Gusick at the top of the box. Gusick deked left past a sprawling Johnston and found herself alone but for two Tiger defenders scrambling to recover. Gusick calmly collected the ball and roofed it for her team-leading 11th goal on the season to put the contest out of reach.
Virginia goalkeeper Christina de Vries made a season-high six saves to collect her 11th shutout in the season's 16 games, tying Becky Hornbacher's school record set 10 years ago.
The Cavaliers will look to carry the momentum generated from a Senior Day victory into Wednesday's regular-season finale with N.C. State, and subsequently the ACC tournament.