No. 5 Virginia Women's Soccer Stays Perfect With 2-0 Win Over JMU

UVA women's soccer improved to 5-0 on the season with a 2-0 victory over JMU on Thursday

A Lia Godfrey goal in the 85th minute punctuated UVA's 2-0 victory over JMU on Thursday :: Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

Coming into this match, James Madison had yet to surrender a single goal through the first four games of the season. The Dukes had outscored its previous four opponents by a combined margin of 7-0 and brought an unbeaten 3-0-1 record into their match against Virginia on Thursday in Charlottesville. 

The JMU defense was as advertised, making things difficult for the UVA offense, which had scored 15 goals through its first four matches of the season. Eventually, though, the Cavaliers broke through and behind two second-half goals from Haley Hopkins and Lia Godfrey, the No. 5 UVA women's soccer team defeated JMU 2-0 on Thursday evening at Klockner Stadium. 

Despite holding a 14-0 advantage in shots and 6-0 edge in corners in the first half, JMU and UVA were equal on the scoreboard at 0-0 at the halftime break. The Cavaliers had some decent scoring chances and Haley Hopkins had a pair of shots sail just over the crossbar midway through. JMU goalkeeper Alexandra Blom made four saves in the first half to keep things scoreless. 

Virginia shifted to another gear to start the second half and turned up the offensive pressure. Just 90 seconds into the second half, a cross into the box struck a JMU defender in the hand resulting in a penalty kick. 

Haley Hopkins, who had a penalty kick goal as one of her three goals against Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday, stepped up to take the shot. Alexandra Blom guessed in the right direction on the shot, but Hopkins struck the ball very well and it went just beyond the outstretched arm of Blom and into the back right corner of the net to finally break the scoreless tie. The goal was also the fifth of the season for Hopkins, strengthening her position as the team's leading scorer. 

Even after yielding their first goal of the season, the JMU defense continued to employ a tough, physical defense that frustrated the Virginia offense. The Cavaliers would end up having a 22-0 advantage in shots in the match, but they would find the back of the net only once more. For nearly the rest of the match, the Dukes were just one play away from tying things up. 

With just under six minutes left to play, Maya Carter worked the ball back to Lia Godfrey, who got a clean look from just inside the edge of the box and placed it perfectly in the top shelf to make it 2-0 and seal the win. 

"The difference between 1-0 and 2-0 with five minutes left makes a big difference," said Lia Godfrey, who now has six points on two goals and two assists this season. 

Virginia, now 5-0 on the season, will remain at home for a match against Memphis on Sunday at 6pm.  

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