In yet another Sunday afternoon overtime classic, the No. 4 Virginia women's soccer team played No. 21 Clemson to a 1-1 draw. The Cavaliers out-shot the Tigers 25-5 in the contest and nearly won the game in the first overtime period. A point-blank attempt from junior Kelly Quinn, however, was barely saved by the Clemson goalkeeper less than five minutes into overtime, allowing the game to go in to double overtime and eventually conclude in a tie.
When asked about Virginia's propensity to play into overtime at Klöckner Stadium, senior forward Shannon Foley responded with a candid answer.
"Every team comes here, and this is their biggest game because we are having a good year," Foley said. "Everyone wants to knock us off."
The first half proved to be a defensive chess match. The period lacked any real action and was controlled by both back lines. Senior defender Becky Sauerbrunn and junior defender Nikki Krzysik spent a lot of time around the ball and controlled the tempo for Virginia (9-1-4, 3-0-3 ACC).
Virginia's defense shut down Clemson's offense in the half and limited it to only two shots and one corner kick. There were, however, two dangerous opportunities that the Cavaliers managed to avoid. Virginia endured a big scare in the 25th minute as a Clemson forward played a great leading pass past the Virginia back line. A Tiger forward raced forward, grabbed the ball and streaked toward the Virginia goal for a one-on-one confrontation with redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chantel Jones. Clemson's shot, however, was pushed just wide, and the Cavaliers avoided a near disaster. Toward the end of the half, Jones stepped out of the goal to grab a Clemson corner kick and prevented any damage from occurring. Virginia entertained a couple of first-half scoring opportunities, but none were able to come to fruition. Krzysik had the best shot, but her attempt early in the half sailed just wide. The first period ended in a scoreless tie.
Clemson came out in the second half with an aggressive mindset, and it paid off. The Tigers (8-2-3, 1-1-3 ACC) scored a goal early in the second half on a well-executed pass and header goal. Clemson used a free kick opportunity to play the ball from near the midfield line down toward the Virginia goal. Clemson senior forward Nuria Zufia was in perfect position to head the ball toward Jones in the goal. Jones was unable to get a handle on the ball, and it squirted in to give Clemson a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute.
Foley had a good opportunity to even the contest in the 57th minute as she received the ball in an open space just 20 yards from the goal. Foley's attempt, however, flew wide of the goal and went out of play.
Foley cashed in on her next opportunity. The senior forward received a free kick from 18 yards, and she used the opportunity to the Cavaliers' advantage. Virginia used a cleverly designed ruse to confuse the Tigers' goalkeeper and allow Foley to get off a strong shot. Junior midfielder Jen Redmond faked taking the free kick, which allowed Foley to come in right behind her and blast a shot to the upper left corner of the goal. The plan worked perfectly, and the ball flew past the Clemson goalkeeper into the back of the net. Foley's goal evened the score at 1-1 in the 62nd minute.
The remainder of the half featured significant back-and-forth action as both Virginia and Clemson scrambled to break the tie. That proved impossible. At the end of regulation Virginia and Clemson remained tied at 1-1.
Both overtime periods featured exciting action and plenty of scoring opportunities for the Cavaliers. They were, however, unable to capitalize on any of those chances.
"We're very disappointed in the result," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "We had our chances to win the game in the second half and overtime, but Clemson did a good job defending. It was disappointing from that standpoint."
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