Thursday night, the Cavaliers returned to Charlottesville coming off a disappointing defeat in Durham, N.C. against Duke. Virginia was tasked with yet another ACC matchup, this time against a tough North Carolina State team that would have loved nothing more than to knock off the Cavaliers.
In the end, No. 8 Virginia (11-3-2, 4-2-2 ACC) pulled out a 3-1 win against the Wolfpack (9-6-1, 3-4-1 ACC) in a match the Cavaliers really needed to have.
Virginia’s sense of urgency and desire was on display, as it started the game out at a frenetic pace.
Freshman forward Taylor Ziemer opened the scoring in the fourth minute, firing the ball inside the near post. She wasted no time and doubled Virginia’s lead in the 14th minute by firing the ball into the net from 16 yards out.
After this opening bombardment, the game slowed down for a period until NC State managed to cut the lead in half just before the break to send the Cavaliers into the dressing room with a 2-1 lead.
Virginia came out ready to put the game to bed in the second half, and it found its insurance goal in the 49th minute when senior midfielder Alexis Shaffer sent in a cross that sophomore midfielder Betsy Brandon finished off with a nice header into the net from six yards out.
The Virginia defense played great aside from the goal allowed, as NC State only managed to get off two shots in the 90-minute period.
The Cavaliers are set to close out their regular season home schedule with a senior day match against Boston College, slated to kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Klöckner Stadium.
—compiled by Hunter Ostad