Watching the women's soccer game against Clemson Sunday might have given fans a strange feeling of dejá vu. With a final count of 23 shots for Virginia and four shots for Clemson, and a final score of just 2-1, the Cavaliers were playing a game of missed chances very similar to the style they played at the beginning of this year.
"I think that everyone was kind of tired and fatigued from the UNC game," freshman Kelly Quinn said. "I think that's why we ended up not being able to come through on so many opportunities. We had more shots than them, we just couldn't put them away -- our bodies were just too tired."
True to early season style, the game remained scoreless until there were only 17 minutes left. In a move that has become almost patented to her, freshman Jess Rostedt dribbled the ball down from the midfield, around numerous opponents, and, halfway into the goal box, took a shot that soared over the goalies right shoulder straight into the back of the net.
Clemson never gave the Cavaliers time to celebrate, though. Not five minutes later, Clemson midfielder Julie Bolt took a pass from Courtney Foster and managed to cross a shot. De Vries, who was standing front center in the box, wasn't able to jump far enough to grab the ball. For the second game in a row, the Cavaliers found themselves heading into overtime, the score tied at 1-1.
This overtime, however, turned out very different from the last. Just five minutes into the extra play, Sarah Huffman, surrounded by Clemson defenders, crossed a pass to the middle of the field where it was promptly tapped in by Kelly Quinn.
"Sarah is a great, great player," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "She does a lot of things for us that go unnoticed. That last run was just indicative of a tremendous player stepping it up in a crucial situation. She gave a great ball in, and [Quinn] did a great job of finishing it."
Although Virginia managed to pull the win out fairly simply once the game reached overtime, that ending was by no means guaranteed during regular play. Virginia, still missing star players Kristen Weiss and Kelly Hammond due to injury, had to do without midfielder Shannon Foley, who was hurt in Thursday's game against UNC.
Also plaguing both teams was a peppering of yellow cards and foul calls. Almost exactly every 20 minutes throughout the game, the referees handed out yellow cards, alternating between Virginia and Clemson. Virginia's two yellow cards went to DeVries and Huffman. De Vries tried to grab a ball that was a few inches shy of the goal box and got carded for interrupting a potential scoring play. Huffman received hers after she threw a ball down, presumably challenging the ref in reaction to a questionable call.
"That's the way these games are," Swanson said. "It's always hard when that happens, it takes the rhythm of the game away, but that's the way these games are. It's a competitive sport and they have to deal with it, and you have to deal with it."
Even though Virginia closed out the weekend with two close games, the team knows that's not what it should concentrate on right now.
"We've got to get back to our mentality of one game at a time," Swanson said. "We've got Virginia Tech on Thursday that we've got to get ready for"
Read More
Live tracker: the 2025 spring football transfer window
By Xander Tilock , Ben McNiff and Ryan Weiner | 7 hours agoVirginia football can add more talent through the portal.
Virginia men’s golf makes program history in stroke play at ACC Championship
By Casey Reims | 7 hours agoVirginia won the stroke play for the first time ever.
In overtime, and with everything on the line, men’s lacrosse falls to No. 9 Duke
By Michael Liebermann | 16 hours ago“I really do,” Tiffany said. “I think we did play our best lacrosse today.”
