While some other University teams might have had a disappointing weekend, the Virginia women's soccer team surely did not. The No. 9 Cavaliers easily dispatched their first two opponents of the season as Virginia dismantled Delaware 4-0 Friday night and silenced No. 15 West Virginia 3-0 Sunday afternoon, completing the weekend shutout.
In their first game of the season Friday afternoon, the Cavaliers dominated from start to finish. The Cavs kept up a steady offensive barrage throughout the game and hardly allowed Delaware's defenders and goalkeepers a breather, giving Virginia its first win of the season and a productive start to the year.
Virginia began the first half with intensity and pressure as junior Jess Rostedt broke the tie in the 33rd minute. Rostedt took a sharp pass from junior defender Alex Singer, dribbled past one Delaware defender and blasted a shot from 18 yards past the outstretched hand of Delaware junior goalkeeper E.J. Goldman to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.
The Cavaliers continued to dominate the first half by keeping the ball in their offensive zone for much of the time and thwarting all serious threats presented by Delaware. The first half ended with Virginia holding this 1-0 lead.
The second half featured much more action and scoring. In her first game, freshman midfielder Sinead Farrelly scored her first career goal as she sneaked a top shelf shot past Goldman in the 55th minute to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead. Farrelly was assisted by freshman forward Meghan Lenczyk and junior midfielder Nikki Krzysik.
"I didn't know I scored at first," Farrelly said. "I thought I was offsides but Megan [Lenczyk] told me I scored. It was awesome."
Lenczyk also recorded her first career assist. Junior Kelly Quinn put the game out of reach in the 66th minute as she took a pass from Rostedt just in front of the goal, maneuvered around an out-of-position Goldman and snuck a shot past two Delaware defenders attempting to cover an empty net. Quinn's goal gave Virginia a 3-0 lead and allowed it to cruise the rest of the way. Senior Sarah Curtis added insult to injury as she added a late unassisted goal in the 79th minute.
Redshirt freshman Chantel Jones started in goal for Virginia and gave an impressive shutout performance while recording 2 saves in 90 minutes of action.
On Sunday afternoon Virginia defeated West Virginia 3-0 in a matchup of two women's soccer powerhouses. Senior midfielder Shannon Foley scored two goals and added another assist as the Cavaliers penetrated and confused the Mountaineers' back line throughout the game.
The first half was an action-packed affair as Rostedt applied constant pressure throughout the period, but neither team was able to put the ball in the back of the net, and the half ended in a scoreless tie.
The Cavaliers broke the tie early in the second half and soon after put the game out of reach. Junior Nikki Krzysik took a free kick pass from Foley and stuck a shot over the shoulder of West Virginia sophomore goalkeeper Mallory Beck to break a scoreless tie and give Virginia a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute. Two minutes later, Foley received a centering pass from Lenczyk, stepped around a West Virginia fallen defender and neatly put the ball past Beck. Foley added her second goal of the contest in the 61st minute on an unassisted goal off of a corner kick. Foley returned this year after missing all of 2006 with a knee injury. When asked about her performance and how satisfying it was, given her injury, Foley responded emotionally,
"It's been a long road back for me and it definitely feels really good."
Virginia's three second-half goals buried the Mountaineers and prevented an upset.
"We moved the ball extremely well today," coach Steve Swanson said. "We didn't get rewarded for it early, but we stuck with it and eventually wore them down"
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