UVA Women’s Soccer Thumps Nevada in Season Opener
All you have to know about the quality of Nevada is that at the end of the first half, trailing 2-0, there were smiles aplenty on the Wolf Pack sidelines. Nevada, winners of only three games last year and with a new coach, were playing to keep the score close. And they had succeeded. Sort of.
The first half, to be frank, was a dour affair. Virginia controlled the ball, as was to be expected, but the buildup was lacking. Right back Laney Rouse and left back Samar Guidry had the freedom to venture way upfield and center backs Lacey McCormack and Talia Staude were the prime movers and distributors, which is par for the course for a Steve Swanson team. Except that McCormack, and especially Staude, completely by-passed the midfield. I only started tracking it 20 minutes into the half, but freshman Yuna McCormack, starting in place of the injured Lia Godfrey, must have only had five touches in the first. Jill Flammia, playing right midfield, was ignored time and time again as Talia and Lacey played directly to Rouse. Rouse has improved tremendously over the past three years, but I know that I prefer to see the ball at Flammia’s feet instead. The first half featured a steady diet of wide crosses dumped into the box, but a largely over-matched Nevada team wasn’t seriously threatened.
Virginia finally got on the scoreboard in the 28th minute when freshman Allie Ross, who had subbed in for Sarah Brunner, was tripped in the box. An obvious foul, but it was bit surprising to see her walk to the spot to take the kick. There is one school of thought that regardless of who a team’s penalty taker is, the player who has been brought down does not take the PK. Too much adrenaline; when control is what is needed for a penalty. Swanson has never been a member of this school, but it was still interesting to see a freshman, with five minutes of collegiate ball under her belt, take the penalty. Ross struck it beautifully into the left side netting. 1-0 Virginia.
A minute after the goal, I was thrilled to see Kiki Maki enter the game. Maki played maybe 20 minutes her first year and then didn’t see any action last year, though she seemed healthy enough on the sidelines. She’s a former top 150 recruit who I had presumed would have transferred out this year. Maki would go on to play 49 minutes in this game, and she looked solid doing so. All four starters in the back are either seniors or graduate students and could be gone next year, and it’s important that Maki get the minutes early.
Six minutes left in the half, Ross struck again. On a corner – and Virginia would have 14 on the night – a Nevada mis-hit and a muff by the keeper allowed the ball to bounce to Ross at the back post, and she slotted it home. She was probably a little embarrassed by how easy it was because she had the sense not to celebrate. The goal had been a gift, but then, good teams punish mistakes. 2-0 going into the half.
The second half belonged to Meredith McDermott who scored a pair of goals. The first came in the 52nd minute, also off a corner and in the scrum of missed clearances. 20 minutes later she knocked in her second off a lovely give and go with Allie Ross. In my season preview I had predicted that it would be Maya Carter who would start at central striker, but in roughly the same amount of playing time, McDermott took five shots and scored twice while Carter was relatively anonymous. For now, it would seem the position is McDermott’s.
The best moment of the game, regardless of the score, came when senior Laughlin Ryan, who hasn’t played a minute in her time at Virginia due to a severe injury, entered the game. Her family had shown up en masse, making the 4.5 hour trip from Charlotte, NC, to see her play. It was the loudest roar of the night. And with good reason. Ryan was the most electrifying player on the pitch. She was composed on the ball, direct when she needed to be, and she displayed nifty footwork. Four minutes after she came in, she fed Brianna Jablonowski for the fifth goal of the night. If this Ryan is available all year, the loss of Lia Godfrey won’t sting so much.
The game was what it was: a tune up in preparation for a grueling ACC schedule. Every field player got in with the exception of Tatum Galvin, who I now presume to be injured. Every one of those players got a minimum of 12 minutes. All in all, a good tune-up.
Interesting Note: Chloe Japic, who transferred in last year from Baylor, played all of last year as Samar Guidry’s replacement at left back. Today most of her minutes came at midfield and as an inverted right winger. (She is very left-footed.) She was very effective and gave the team a different look.
Injury Note: In the 65th minute, Laney Rouse, off ball, collapsed in a heap. The first thought in such a fall is torn ACL but Rouse was grabbing at her left ankle. Swanson after the game called it “a significant” injury. We as fans won’t know much about her status because Swanson keeps injury news very close to the vest, but I fear that Rouse is going to be out for a while.
Next Up: Virginia hosts Radford at Klöckner on Sunday, August 20th at 6:00pm. The game will be on the ACC Network.
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