Virginia women’s soccer defended its status as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament Friday in a comeback victory against Princeton at Klöckner Stadium. The 2-1 win was the Cavaliers’ (13-5-0, 5-5-0 ACC) first contest in over two weeks, and they displayed renewed strength in the midfield areas to knock the Tigers (14-5-0, 6-2-0 Ivy League) out of the national postseason.
Not letting an early deficit dampen their spirits, the Cavaliers showed impressive mettle. Coach Steve Swanson agreed that perseverance was the name of the game in keeping his team’s season alive.
“We showed our grit today,” Swanson said. “And, you know, I think it takes a good team to come back from that deficit the way it happened, and against a team like that one.”
The first half was immediately a back-and-forth affair, and Princeton did not wait long to get on the scoresheet. Less than six minutes in, a sumptuous ball from senior forward Heather MacNab found junior forward Pietra Tordin, who flicked the ball over Virginia’s sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Safradin to open the scoring.
Although Tordin appeared to be offside before scoring, video review did not go in Virginia’s favor. The Cavalier players looked around at each other for answers, as an early lapse in defensive judgment had proven to be a costly one.
But the hosts would not be subdued so easily. A short time later, in the 14th minute, senior midfielder Lia Godfrey’s pass landed at sophomore midfielder Yuna McCormack’s feet. McCormack took two steps and then blasted her shot into the bottom left corner from outside the box. The goal leveled the score and seemed to turn momentum in Virginia’s favor.
Much later in the half, the Cavaliers almost took the lead when freshman forward Sophia Bradley glided past two Tiger defenders and played the ball across the six-yard box. Junior forward Meredith McDermott did as much as she could to reach the ball with her outstretched leg, but she came up just short, missing the go-ahead goal by inches. Heading into the break in the face of a tied scoreline, Virginia still felt in control.
When the whistle sounded for the start of the second half, the Cavaliers were immediately on the offensive. After an interception in the defensive end in the 48th minute, Godfrey picked up the ball, drove through the middle and passed it wide to junior forward Maggie Cagle.
The elusive Cagle lost her defender and cut inside, unleashing a powerful shot that ricocheted off a defender and over the outstretched fingertips of the Princeton goalkeeper. She sprinted towards the Virginia bench to celebrate a crucial goal and the team’s first lead of the game.
A couple minutes later, Cagle was the spearhead of the Cavalier attack once again. After juking her defender, she lifted a cross that just missed the heads of multiple Virginia attackers. The Cavaliers were turning on the pressure and were looking to put the game to rest, but the Tigers were not going down so easily.
Princeton’s press began to cause Virginia problems late in the second half, which culminated in an advantageous free kick opportunity in the 74th minute. The shot was taken and barely missed over the bar, but it had Safradin scrambling.
In the end, the Cavaliers were able to wind down the clock late and secure a first-round victory to extend their season. Godfrey emphasized postgame that the win was one that could be the start of a deep tournament push.
“Especially after what happened last year, not making a tournament, and now pulling out this gritty win was definitely gonna hold momentum,” Godfrey said.
With the wind at its back, Virginia will look to continue its tournament run Friday, when the Cavaliers host No. 5 seed Wisconsin. The Badgers defeated Maine 3-1 Friday in their first-round matchup. Kickoff time and broadcast information will be released soon by the NCAA and will be available on the Virginia Athletics website.
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