Fall Break: a chance to sleep and rest, or a chance to one-up the competition? The Virginia women's soccer team chose the latter as it used the break to surge forward -- in the rankings and in its record. Virginia defeated the Miami Hurricanes Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavs pulled out a gutsy victory in double overtime as senior forward Shannon Foley scored a golden goal in the 107th minute. It was the second golden goal victory of the season for the Cavaliers, the first coming off a double-overtime goal scored by senior midfielder Julia Falk against William & Mary. Virginia now holds a record of 8-1-3, 2-0-2 ACC and moved up to No. 4 in the rankings and second in the conference standings. Virginia's victory against Miami is especially important because it gives the Cavaliers two ACC victories, which will prove very important once the ACC Tournament begins.
"Overall I was happy with our performance," coach Steve Swanson said. "I think we need to get a little more vertical penetration; we played horizontally a little too much at times. Overall it was not bad."
Though Foley led the Cavaliers to victory over the weekend, the win would have been difficult to come by if not for the play of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chantel Jones, an emerging star. Jones -- with the Cavalier defense -- has recorded 10 shutouts in 12 games this season. She also owns the nation's best goals against average with a 0.238 GAA mark. Similarly, Virginia's defense is now ranked as the nation's top defense. The Cavalier backline has surrendered only three goals all season and ranks first in shutouts (10) and GAA (0.230).The Cavaliers' impressive defense limited the nation's top offense, Florida State, to one goal last Thursday and also shut out the Hurricanes Sunday. There is no doubt that the Cavalier defense has been the key to Virginia's success so far. In one particular instance, Jones made a point-blank save in a one-on-one situation during Thursday's game against Florida State. Jones' save helped keep the Cavaliers in the game, which they eventually played to a draw.
"I just got my way forward, cut down the angle and got my hands on the ball," Jones said.
Virginia will get somewhat of a breather today as it travels to face the N.C. State Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. The game may provide a brief respite in the Cavaliers' tough schedule, as the Wolfpack have not posted the best results. N.C. State (5-4-2, 0-3-0 ACC) is winless in the ACC and was defeated by Florida State 4-1. Needless to say, however, any ACC road game is an inherent challenge, and in a conference as competitive as the ACC, anything can happen.
The Wolfpack are led by junior forward Lindsay Vera who has posted 12 points and 6 goals. Vera has led the Wolfpack all season long and should be a difficult defensive matchup for the Cavalier defense. Senior midfielder Jessica O'Rourke has added 5 points and is also a dangerous scoring threat.
After a productive weekend Virginia will look to keep its positive momentum going against the Wolfpack. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Method Road Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
"They're going to be tough," junior defender Sarah Senty said.
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