After a sluggish start in the opening round of the ACC Tournament Sunday at Klöckner Stadium, the No. 1 Virginia women’s soccer team rebounded to roll past Maryland, 6-1. The Cavaliers had five different players score a goal and outshot Maryland 24-5 to overcome an early deficit and advance to the semifinal round, where they will meet Virginia Tech.
The Cavaliers (20-0, 13-0 ACC) entered the tournament as the top seed after finishing the regular season a perfect 19-0, an achievement they completed with a 2-0 win against the No. 5 Hokies in their regular season finale Thursday. That victory was Virginia’s fourth against a top-five opponent this season, and it extended the team’s shutout streak to nearly 570 minutes.
The Terrapins (10-10, 6-7) ended that dominant defensive run early, putting the Cavaliers in an early hole in the final ACC matchup between the two schools. Maryland jumped out to an early lead in the fifth minute when senior forward Hayley Brock lobbed a ball over Cavalier freshman goalkeeper Morgan Stearns from 12 yards out.
Facing their first deficit since Sept. 26 against Duke, the Cavaliers responded by flaunting the offensive firepower that has made them a feared national power and the consensus number one team in the nation. Junior midfielder Morgan Brian leveled the score in the 28th minute, junior midfielder Danielle Colaprico put the Cavaliers in front five minutes later, freshman forward Morgan Reuther continued the onslaught with her first career goal and Brian added her second tally of the opening period for good measure. The flurry sent Virginia into the break with a comfortable 4-1 lead.
“When you go down 1-0 in the first five minutes, it definitely gets your attention,” senior midfielder Annie Steinlage said. “We’ve gone down a few times this season and come back and I think that speaks volumes about this team’s mentality.”
Virginia came into Sunday’s matchup leading the nation in scoring, averaging more than three goals per game. The high-octane Cavalier offense is the only unit in the country that boasts three double-digit goal-scorers in sophomore forwards Makenzy Doniak and Brittany Ratcliffe and the two-time ACC Player of the Week standout Brian.
After surrendering the early goal to Maryland, the Cavalier defense began suffocating the Terrapins, not allowing them to sustain possession in the Virginia half. The remaining 40 minutes of the half were largely played deep in Maryland’s defensive third, and the Cavaliers capitalized repeatedly.
The leveling tally came when Steinlage played a beautiful cross deep into the box from 10 yards out to a leaping Brian, whose header easily beat Terrapin sophomore goalkeeper Rachelle Beanlands to the far post for Brian’s 11th goal of the season.
“I thought our response to going down was great,” coach Steve Swanson said. “We were patient, stuck to the game plan and kept putting pressure on them as the half wore on.”
Brian and the Cavaliers were far from finished in the first half though, and were immediately back in the attacking third. Five and a half minutes after her goal tied it, Brian wove through the scrambling Terrapin defense and sent a cross into the box to Colaprico, who one-timed a left-footed rip into the back of the net to give Virginia its first lead of the day.
From there, the floodgates opened as the Terrapins were unable to keep Virginia out of the box and were forced to attempt long clears or commit fouls. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Maryland committed its most costly foul of the match. Brian took the ensuing free kick from 24 yards out, which she curled into the top left corner of the net for her 12th goal of the year.
As the Cavalier offense began to click on all cylinders, the Terrapin attack disappeared. Maryland was unable to muster another shot for the rest of the first half after its opening goal. Virginia outshot Maryland by 19 overall, and have now racked up 427 shots this season while allowing just 111.
“Our team defending has been a real key for us,” Swanson said. “Our back four has been fantastic and we have gotten good coordination between our goalkeeper and our back line. We have players that work really hard on the defensive side and cover for one another; no question that has been a critical part to our success all year.”
Virginia continued to dominate play after the break. The Cavaliers were virtually always on the attack, and racked up another 12 shots against the reeling Terrapin defense. Ratcliffe orchestrated both second half goals for Virginia. She streaked down the right wing and crossed the ball into the box for Fry, who headed the ball home in the 82nd minute to extend the lead to 5-1. Junior reserve forward Mary Morgan closed out the scoring for the Cavaliers in the 88th minute off a feed from Ratcliffe.
“It was a good result for us today,” Steinlage said. “It helps a lot to know that we have a lot of people coming off the bench, as well as the people on the field who are starting, that can contribute a lot.”
The Cavaliers will next face fourth-seeded Virginia Tech, who narrowly defeated Notre Dame 2-1 in double overtime Sunday. The ACC semifinal match will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Cary, N.C.
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