UVA Women’s Soccer Drubs George Mason on the Road 4-0
George Mason University began life as the UVA Northern Virginia extension center before getting their independence in the early 70s. In the late 80s, GMU was quite the power in women’s soccer while UVA was, umm, not. Since the arrival of Steve Swanson, the roles have been reversed and the Cavaliers have beaten up on the Patriots in recent years. This year was no exception.
Swanson threw out a wrinkle today as the team lined up in an unbalanced 5 – 3 – 2 with Kiki Maki added as one of three central defenders. Once the Cavs had taken the measure of GM, Chloe Japic started pushing ahead and taking on the role of winger, giving Virginia a more traditional shape to the squad. Maki then played as a right back, but it’s apparent she hasn’t spent much time out wide. She provided zero width. In the second half, Aniyah Collier helmed right wing but I was much more impressed when Collier switched over to left back. She was more involved in build-up (as opposed to just running on the ball) and was even a better dribbler on the left. Weird.
The other change that Swanson made was starting freshman Victoria Safradin in goal. Safradin was the #1 prep goalie in the country last year and seems poised to succeed Cayla White in goal next season. She would not be seriously challenged on the night.
The end came quickly as in just the second minute, Yuna McCormack beat her defender in the box and ran straight at goal. She had a good angle and could have shot but she found Maggie Cagle free at about the penalty spot. The GM keeper had been defending the near post so Cagle had a wide open net to punch the ball into. The pass was the single prettiest play that Virginia has made in this young season; Yuna’s vision was sublime. 1-0 Virginia.
Midfielder Jill Flammia had a couple of nice shots in the box. She’s very comfortable shooting with her left and I never get the sense that Jill has to try to get the ball on her right foot. Cagle drew a beautiful save from GM keeper Ginny Fronk. Lacey McCormack hit the cross bar with a header. Flammia found Meredith McDermott in the box for one goal called back for a handball and then again for a sure goal had Meredith not been offsides.
It was all Virginia and the dam finally broke when Yuna McCormack found Talia Staude relatively unmarked for a nice header. Eighteen minutes left in the first half and the game was essentially over. Virginia up 2-0.
In the second half Virginia again started in the unbalanced 5 – 3 – 2. Japic started as the third central defender while Aniyah Carter played the wingback. Carter is rough, but she jumps into passing lanes like she’s Reece Beekman. In soccer, there are two elements to a good turn. First, you change direction. Then you change speed. Collier has the latter down. In spades. She’s going to be a lot of fun to watch as she improves with Virginia coaching.
Cagle got her second goal of the night off a nice headed flick on from McDermott. As a true center forward, McDermott is struggling a bit to hold the ball with her back to the goal, but on this play, this is exactly what you want from your central striker. 3-0 and Virginia was off to the races.
A minute later, Flammia made a great run, picked out Cagle at the top of the box. Maggie tried to place the ball, as opposed to shooting it, and fizzed the shot wide. Cagle certainly had the opportunity for a hat-trick in this game. She’s now had a brace – two goals – in two games. She’ll have to wait a little bit longer for that three-goal haul.
Allie Ross completed the scoring with less than 3 minutes remaining as Sarah Brunner found her on a lovely cross.
All in all, it was a comprehensive win, albeit against a lesser caliber opponent following the tie against Michigan. However…
Injury Notes: Just two minutes after being introduced as a sub, Brianna Jablonowski slumped to the deck. She was in visible pain and was on the trainer’s table on the sidelines for 8-10 minutes before being carted away to the locker room. For a team that has already lost three starters, this was a painful sight.
Next Up: The Virginia Cavaliers are now 3-0-1 on the season and return to friendly confines of Klöckner Stadium on Thursday as they host West Virginia at 6pm.
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