The Virginia women's soccer team improved its season record to 6-1-1 this weekend, trouncing Liberty Friday night and fighting for a win against William & Mary Sunday afternoon with a double overtime goal from senior forward Julia Falk.
The No. 4 Cavaliers defeated the No. 24Tribe (5-3-0) Sunday afternoon in a hard-fought, double-overtime 1-0 victory. Sophomore forward Caitlin Miskel made a precise pass in the 106th minute, and Falk put home the winning goal, sending Klöckner Stadium to its feet in an uproar. Virginia also defeated Liberty Friday night, 5-0. Virginia currently stands at 6-1-1 heading into the beginning of ACC play.
Virginia cruised to an easy win Friday night against Liberty despite a slow start. The Cavaliers went more than 15 minutes into the first half of the game without a goal. Freshman Sinead Farrelly broke the scoreless tie in the 19th minute with a scorching shot. Farrelly grabbed the ball in an unsettled situation in front of the Liberty goal and blasted a clear attempt past Liberty freshman goalkeeper Ashley Nyholt to give the Cavs a 1-0 lead. Virginia, however, was unable to add another tally and ended the first half with only a one-goal lead.
In the second half, Virginia didn't settle with a one-goal lead for long, as the Cavaliers exploded for four second-half goals. Led by Farrelly, senior forward Shannon Foley and sophomore forward Caitlin Miskel, the Cavaliers pulled away from the Flames and never looked back. During the 56th minute, junior midfielder Kelly Quinn led a fast break to the edge of the back-line, dribbled around one Liberty defender and passed the ball to Miskel in front of the goal. Miskel simply redirected the ball off the post and into the corner of the goal, then performing an impressive series of flips and cartwheels, to the delight of 945 fans at Klöckner Stadium, after her electrifying goal.
"[The move] is called a round-off back tuck," Miskel said. "I used to do gymnastics in high school and I guess the crowd really loved it."
Miskel's goal got Virginia going in the second half, giving the Cavs a 2-0 lead. From there Virginia put on cruise control and built a comfortable 5-0 lead from three straight Virginia goals, most notably a perfectly executed centering pass and header goal from Foley to Farrelly in the 63rd minute. Farrelly finished the night with 2 goals and Miskel, Quinn and freshman forward Meghan Lenczyk also added goals for the Cavaliers. Foley also wrote her name into the Virginia record book as she broke Andrea Rubio's career assists record.
Sunday afternoon's contest against William & Mary proved to be a much different match-up. Both teams started sluggishly and were continually stifled on the offensive end of the field. Virginia entertained with several close calls in the first half but was unable to capitalize on any first-period opportunities. On the other hand, William & Mary had the chance to take a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute as a Tribe forward found herself in a one-on-one situation with Virginia redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chantel Jones. Jones, however, was up to the challenge and saved the Tribe strike by diving to just barely redirect the ball away from the goal. The first half was generally controlled by the Cavaliers, but Virginia was unable to establish any kind of offensive rhythm or consistency.
The second half continued the defensive chess match between the Cavaliers and Tribe. Both teams established great scoring chances in the period but were unable to turn opportunities into goals. During the 67th minute, Virginia had a series of chances as a result of the great play of Foley and Farrelly, but two corner kicks and one shot were thwarted by the Tribe defense. Less than 20 minutes later, Virginia had another golden opportunity as junior midfielder Alli Fries fired a blistering shot from five yards out. The attempt, however, went right into the hands of a waiting Tribe goalkeeper. After 90 minutes of play Virginia and William & Mary remained tied at 0-0. The game remained scoreless through the first overtime period and through half of the second until Falk put home the winning goal.
"We knew we were going to have to grind it out to win," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "I'm really proud that our team was able to come back and get the win"
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