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Lia Godfrey Leads Virginia to 3-1 Win Over Xavier in NCAA 2nd Round

Godfrey scored two goals to lead the Cavaliers past the Musketeers to advance to the third round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship

Matt Newton

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

All season long, Lia Godfrey has quietly been Virginia's best player. She is not the team's leader in goals, assists, or points. But make no mistake, the junior midfielder's brilliant ball control and passing skills have generated many of UVA's offensive opportunities this season. The ACC's coaches certainly recognize Godfrey's value, voting her to the All-ACC First Team for the second-consecutive season. 

In UVA's second round match against Xavier, Godfrey's impact wasn't quiet at all. Godfrey scored two goals, each coming in the first 20 minutes of the match, to lead Virginia to a 3-1 victory over Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. 

On a cold Friday afternoon at Jeffrey Field on the campus of Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania, snow flurries fell consistently throughout the match as both teams battled the temperature as much as they battled each other to keep their seasons alive. 

Despite the frigid conditions, there was no shortage of offensive action as both teams got hot early with three combined goals scored in the first 22 minutes of the match. 

In the 6th minute, Emma Dawson ran under a Xavier goal kick and sent a pass forward to Godfrey, who touched the ball ahead once before firing a right-footed shot from just beyond the box. Her shot was beautifully struck, curling away from the goalkeeper and deflecting off the left post before bouncing in to give Virginia a very early 1-0 lead. 

Less than 15 minutes later, the Cavaliers were swarming Godfrey again after she notched her second goal. Godfrey pushed the ball ahead through the Xavier midfield and then sent an accurate pass to Haley Hopkins on the border of the box. Hopkins expertly raked a backwards pass right back to a cutting Godfrey, who easily placed her left-footed shot into the back right corner of the net to double Virginia's lead. 

To their credit, the Musketeers, who were making just their second appearance in the NCAA 2nd round in program history, refused to give up after conceding the two early goals. Less than two minutes after Godfrey's second goal, Xavier earned a free kick from just a couple of feet outside a box, providing a golden opportunity for a shot on goal. Ella Rogers cashed in on the chance, brilliantly fitting her shot inside the near post and just past the diving effort of UVA goalkeeper Cayla White to get Xavier on the board. 

With the exception of the free kick surrendered in the first half, the Virginia defense was very solid for the rest of the match. Xavier attempted only five total shots in the match, with only one of those shots going on goal. 

Things cooled down significantly after the hot offensive start, as scoring chances dried up for both teams. The score remained 2-1 for the next 50 minutes, as Xavier remained just one play away from finding an equalizer. UVA attempted 12 shots in the match, with seven of those attempts going on cage, but Xavier goalkeeper Maria Galley made four saves to keep the Musketeers in the match.

Eventually, however, the Cavaliers broke through for a crucial insurance goal. In the 72nd minute, Haley Hopkins got loose behind the Xavier defense in the midfield and started a breakaway attack. She sent a pass outside for Maggie Cagle, who initially lost control of the ball in the box as Galley came up to prevent her from taking a shot. But Cagle recovered back to the ball and took a hard shot from the right side. Galley got her hands on the shot, but wasn't able to squeeze it as the ball made its way across the goal line. 

Cagle's goal essentially put the game away as Virginia went on to win 3-1 to advance to the third round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. UVA will await the winner of No. 2 Penn State and No. 7 West Virginia, who will play at 4:30pm on Friday. The winner of the match will face Virginia on Sunday at 5pm back at Jeffrey Field in State College with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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