Following a 2-0 win over Towson Thursday, Virginia women’s soccer continued its dominance at Klöckner Stadium with another 2-0 victory against Northwestern Sunday afternoon. Despite an identical score to Virginia’s season opener, Sunday’s game unfolded very differently. The Cavaliers fired on all cylinders against Towson, putting up 24 shots and 12 on target, but they mustered just nine total shots and one on target against Northwestern. However, by shutting out the Wildcats (1-1-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten), the Cavaliers (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) still have not given up a goal in the 2024 season.
Junior forward Meredith McDermott opened up Virginia’s scoring in the eighth minute, banging in a shot off the far post around junior goalkeeper Reiley Fitzpatrick. Though the goal went down as unassisted in the stat sheet, the breakaway opportunity would not have been possible without a 40-yard strike from junior defender Tatum Galvin. The pass was just wide enough that the sliding freshman defender Tanna Schornstein did not have the angle, allowing McDermott to go one-on-one against Fitzpatrick.
“It was a great play by Tatum to open up and see that their line was super high, which they were doing for the first couple minutes of the game,” McDermott said. “It was great recognition by her.”
The junior was the head of the Cavalier attack Sunday, recording the team’s only shot on target in the game and attempting five shots total — no other Virginia player attempted more than two. McDermott, who led the team in scoring last season along with junior forward Maggie Cagle, was coming off of a game against Towson where she registered four shots on target but no goals. After Thursday’s match, Coach Steve Swanson said that his team would emphasize shot quality moving forward — scoring on its only shot on target Sunday showed that much.
McDermott nearly found the back of the net again in the 90th minute after a long ball set her up with another breakaway chance. The goal post was not as friendly the second time around, as it sent the shot back and denied her a multiple-goal game.
Senior midfielder Lia Godfrey was another positive contributor for Virginia, playing 23 minutes off the bench. Godfrey, who missed the entire 2023 season due to a preseason knee injury, was an All-American each of her first three seasons with the Cavaliers. She has made her presence felt immediately on both sides of the ball in her first two games back on the field, and against Northwestern she was the catalyst for Virginia’s second goal.
In the 43rd minute, Godfrey booted a laser downfield that landed perfectly in the stride of senior forward Degen Miller. The senior quickly crossed the ball into the box, where the pass grazed off of Fitzpatrick’s hand before caroming off of a Northwestern defender’s leg and into the back of the net. The goal doubled the advantage for the Cavaliers, providing important insurance right before the end of the first half.
Bringing a three-time All-American off the bench was a luxury for Virginia, and it is worth keeping an eye on Godfrey’s role in the upcoming weeks as she eases back from injury and her minutes increase moving into conference play.
On the defensive end, Virginia put in a stout performance for the second game in a row, allowing just two shots on target from Northwestern. Both were saved by sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Safradin, who noted the defensive unit’s strong effort to begin the campaign.
“[I] definitely owe it a lot to the back line for working together so well, and I know if anything happens they are going to have my back,” Safradin said. “From the beginning of the season, they've been on it 100 percent and performing so well.”
The Cavaliers still have plenty of work to do in their non-conference schedule, though, as No. 4 Penn State looms next on the schedule. Virginia will travel to State College, Pa. Thursday to battle the Nittany Lions in its first road game of the year. The match is set to kick off at 5:30 p.m. and can be streamed on Big Ten Network.
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