The scene Friday night was all too familiar for the Cavaliers. Seventy minutes against the No. 15-ranked James Madison Dukes had yielded no winner, and now the two teams were headed to overtime. For Virginia, it was the third consecutive overtime game, and the memory of last weekend's struggles was palpable. But when Allie Flynn collected a loose ball and fired the game-winning goal past the JMU goalkeeper, the team proved that it can compete with the best and, more importantly, beat them too.
"It was just so good to win an overtime game," Flynn said. "I just feel like it would have been a disaster to lose a third game in overtime, and it was really important going into the next couple games to put one in the cage and end it."
Senior Katie Phillips got the Cavaliers on the board with 11:34 left in the first half, and Virginia held a 1-0 advantage going into the intermission.
Then the fireworks started. Less than three minutes into the second half, the Dukes got a goal of their own. Eight minutes later, Virginia took the lead again on Abby Taylor's second goal of the season. Less than a minute passed, though, before JMU struck back, this time off a short corner.
With only 1:21 left to play, the Cavaliers earned a short corner, and Katie Phillips rocketed the apparent game-winner past the outstretched goalie. Biffy Cornielson and Sarah Miller assisted.
But the Dukes were not done yet, as they quickly advanced the ball downfield and punched in the equalizer with only 31 seconds to spare.
When the horn signaled the end of regulation, the Cavaliers had no doubts about what was going to happen in overtime.
"They composed themselves very quickly," Virginia coach Jess Wilk said. "They really remained very calm, and they were very determined. You could see it when they walked back into the huddle prior to the overtime, and they just wanted to get it done."
Redshirt freshman Amy Desjadon, making her first career start, anchored the defense and made six saves. None were more important than a save off a JMU short corner in the extra period.
"I thought Amy had a great game," Wilk said. "She came up with some big saves when she needed to, and she looked very poised back there."
Yesterday, the Cavaliers were back at it, this time entertaining the Hawks of Monmouth University.
Overmatched from the start, Monmouth allowed the first goal of the game to freshman Lucy Meyers nearly 18 minutes into the contest. Dana Anderson tacked on another goal before halftime, and the Cavaliers led 2-0.
Allie Flynn posted the third goal of the game at the 36:50 mark. Katie Phillips garnered the assist on each of the first three goals.
The fourth and fifth goals were landmarks for freshmen Christie Kellam and Leigh Giacco, respectively. Each scored her first collegiate goal en route to a 5-0 final.
The Cavaliers pummeled the Hawks' goalie all game long, finishing with 33 shots on goal. Amy Desjadon was in the net and recorded zero saves.
Virginia returns to action Wednesday against No. 18 ranked William & Mary in Williamsburg.
Read More
For Virginia softball, the map to victory is clear — it’s also on the wall
By Cierra Lyles | 5 hours agoA team tradition inspires a culture of success.
Hylton shatters home run record, but No. 25 Virginia drops series to No. 15 Stanford
By Ben McNiff | 7 hours agoLook for Virginia to conclude the regular season this Wednesday with a home meeting versus Liberty.
Shoddy bullpen pitching kills Virginia’s bid for a series sweep of No. 24 Georgia Tech
By Ryan Weiner | 10 hours agoThe Cavaliers nearly captured a sweep, but fell just short.
