Virginia women’s soccer left their first ranked matchup on a high note Thursday, as the Cavaliers (3-0, 0-0 ACC) came from behind to defeat Penn State (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) in University Park by a final score of 2-1. Although Virginia started the contest slowly, they showed impressive determination in the second half to secure the win.
The Nittany Lions were clearly the dominant force in the first half, racking up 11 shots compared to the Cavaliers’ two, and the scoring breakthrough came for Penn State first in the 15th minute. Senior midfielder Olivia Damico drove forward from her wide right position and put in a high arcing cross. The ball took an awkward bounce and snuck by the Virginia defender, falling perfectly in front of senior forward Kaitlyn Macbean, who slotted the ball coolly into the left side of the net.
Penn State was not done with their first half dominance though and almost went up by two goals mere minutes later when senior midfielder Jordan Fusco fizzed a shot from outside the box that went just wide. Sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Safradin was once again called into action for the Cavaliers soon after, producing a diving save with 17:57 left in the half. Impressive goalkeeping and missed opportunities by Penn State kept the game close, and Virginia was relieved to be down only 1-0 at the break.
The Cavaliers entered the second half with renewed vigor, eager to make a comeback. In the 54th minute, a long ball over the top towards junior forward Maggie Cagle fell kindly, and she was able to skillfully sprint past two converging defenders and poke the ball past the Nittany Lion goalkeeper to level the score. The impressive strike gave Virginia confidence that they seemed to have let slip in the first half.
Another chance came soon after for the Cavaliers when Cagle passed to sophomore forward Allie Ross out wide. Ross faked out the defender and unleashed a powerful shot, yet the angle became prohibitive and the Penn State goalkeeper made a great reaction save.
Virginia would not take long to find the net again, however. After a beautiful long ball was played through the middle to a streaking junior forward Meredith McDermott, she looked to finish off the chance but was taken down inside the box. Originally, no foul was given — to the outrage of the Cavalier players and supporters — but after review the referee gave a penalty. Cagle made no mistake at the penalty spot and smashed the ball into the upper left corner of the goal. The made penalty shot put the scoring tally at three goals in three games for the preseason All-ACC selection.
The Nittany Lions were not completely out of the game quite yet. With just 11 minutes left to play, the Virginia defense was left completely exposed when Macbean surprisingly “dummied” the pass and let it go to the better positioned Fusco. Fusco made some impressive moves and smashed a shot at the Cavalier goal just outside the six-yard box. Luckily for Virginia, it was directly at Safradin who made the point-blank stop. After the save, the Cavaliers held stout defensively to see their victory out.
Virginia’s performance in the first and second half was like night and day, and Coach Steve Swanson admitted that the first half performance was not ideal for the Cavaliers prospects of winning against such a strong Penn State team.
“Obviously we were all disappointed with our performance in the first half, but full credit to the team for raising the level of play in the second half and getting the win,” Swanson said. “This has always been a challenging place for us to play and it was no different tonight.”
The Virginia victory showcased their strengths and weaknesses as a team. Strong attacking play from Cagle, McDermott and Ross will continue to result in goals and keep the Cavaliers in games, but the defense will have to avoid mistakes for this team to go far. Questions about Safradin’s first year starting in goal were quelled, as she garnered a career high six saves and downright rescued the game for Virginia at some points in the contest. If the Cavaliers can clean up the defensive mistakes, the No. 3 Nittany Lions will not be the only ranked team that Virginia takes down this year.
The Cavaliers will appear next when they make a home return to Klöckner Stadium Sunday to face Utah Valley. Kickoff is set for noon and will be broadcasted live on ACCNX.
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