The No. 10 Virginia women’s soccer team will return to Charlottesville this week after a very successful trip to Texas.
The Cavaliers (5-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) blanked the host team, University of Texas, 3-0 Friday, and followed that win with a 2-1 victory against Southern Methodist University Sunday.
Junior forward Molly Menchel opened the scoring for Virginia Friday with a goal in the 20th minute for the only goal of the opening period.
After halftime, Virginia took control. Freshman forward Makenzy Doniak tallied her sixth goal of the year in the 68th minute, extending her scoring streak to a school-record five games to begin the season. Senior forward Caroline Miller added a final insurance goal in the 73rd minute as the Cavaliers registered their fourth consecutive shutout.
Virginia continued its impressive play Sunday, defeating SMU (2-3-0, 0-0-0 C-USA) with a strong second half. After a scoreless opening period, Miller found the net for the second time of the weekend just 22 seconds into the half.
Senior midfielder Julia Roberts extended the lead to 2-0 in the 87th minute, firing home a free kick from just outside the penalty box. SMU responded just two minutes later with the first goal against the Cavaliers since their opening game, but the defense held the Mustangs in check in the game’s final minutes to secure the win.
The Cavaliers are next in action this weekend when they take on two in-state rivals at Klöckner Stadium, facing George Mason Friday and James Madison Sunday.