Virginia women’s soccer came away as the 1-0 victors in its away matchup with VCU Thursday, as the Cavaliers (6-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) grabbed a late winner via junior forward Maggie Cagle to subdue the Rams (0-5-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic 10). Despite a slow start, Virginia found a path to victory against a surprisingly tough VCU defense.
The first half of the contest was completely square. Virginia’s defense did not allow any promising opportunities for the Rams in the half, and the Cavaliers controlled the tempo of the game well, garnering most of the possession but finding chances far and few between. In fact, each team only recorded one shot on goal in the entire first half. The Cavaliers had some promising crosses, but the VCU back line was stout and repelled the Virginia pressure.
The Cavaliers came out with a renewed intensity in the second half, and a goal almost came to fruition after graduate midfielder Linda Mittermair sent in a dazzling cross which sophomore forward Allie Ross flicked towards the bottom right corner, but VCU’s goalkeeper made a great save to keep the score level.
On the other end, the Rams’ fifth-year midfielder Milica Bulatovic barely missed a free header in the 60th minute. Just five minutes later, a dangerous cross from the right midfield forced a jumping grab from sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Safradin. Virginia tried to answer soon after when sophomore midfielder Ella Carter thrashed a shot toward the top left corner, forcing VCU’s senior goalkeeper Allison Karpovich to make another spectacular save.
The second half was initially a frustrating one for the Cavaliers, as their constant control and pressure on the Rams' defense was not breaking through. But Virginia finally broke the deadlock in the 77th minute after a rebound from a free kick attempt landed at Cagle’s feet. She took a touch to set up a monstrous long range strike that bounced off the crossbar and into the goal. The Cavalier bench exploded with cheers as Cagle’s shot silenced the VCU faithful.
The rest of the match was uneventful as the Cavaliers held on for a much deserved addition to the win column. Virginia kept its opponent without a shot on target for the third consecutive game — graduate defender Moira Kelley and junior defender Tatum Galvin played all 90 minutes of the contest and did not allow any daylight for the VCU attackers. Although the Cavalier offense looked out of sorts in the first half, they stepped up their game in the second half to come away with their sixth straight victory to begin the year.
“It was good to see us respond the way we did,” Coach Steve Swanson said postgame. “It’s not an easy place to play, and I thought VCU was very good tonight — very organized, hard to break down, so you have to give them credit for that.”
Virginia next takes the field Sunday, marking the final non-conference test for the Cavaliers, who will battle Howard before entering ACC play next week. Kickoff at Klöckner Stadium is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACCNX.
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