Virginia Women’s Soccer Beats Miami, Closes in on ACC Tourney

Defeating Miami 1-0 at Klöckner, Virginia takes a giant step towards the improbable: postseason play

I have to come clean. Ten days ago, with Virginia winless through six games of the ACC slate and mired in the bottom third of the standings, I thought the hopes of postseason play were pipe dreams. But the team has won two games in a row, benefited from one of the easier schedules in the ACC, and has the easiest run out over the last two games. Only six teams in the 14-team ACC make the tournament and there are six teams in contention for that last spot. Virginia is in the driver’s seat for that last slot.

This season may turn out to be the macrocosm of the primary trait that these women have as a team. They never give up. They can play poorly. They can be outplayed. They can squander an ungodly number of chances in front of goal. But they don’t give up, and that is partly attributable to head coach Steve Swanson and partly attributable to the level of talent on the pitch for these Cavaliers.

Against Miami the talent gulf was too large for the Hurricanes to overcome, even on a night when Virginia did not play particularly well. Both teams did more huffin’ and puffin’ than play the beautiful game. Miami, unlike most of the mid-table teams who have succeeded against the Cavaliers this season, did not flood the midfield but instead opted to play with a defense-first priority by playing on the back line and defending deep in the low block. That’s a reasonable strategy. Miami has trouble scoring and their best player is keeper Melissa Dagenais. (Just this week, Dagenais learned that she had received a call-up to the Canadian national team, so kudos to her!) It took Virginia about five minutes to play themselves into the game, but once they did, they overwhelmed Miami.

The best chance of the first half came just five minutes in when Meredith McDermott pounced on a missed clearance by a Miami defender and she had 20-yard run into the box. Dagenais came out and McDermott slipped the ball wide. McDermott had the time to get her head up. It really should have been a goal. Poor finishing is one of the reasons why this team sits in a 4-way tie for seventh.

There would be more half chances and Virginia was firmly on the front foot. The crowd at Klöckner was also extremely vocal, maybe the most supportive it’s been all year. (Plus there were t-shirt cannons at halftime! And who doesn’t love t-shirt cannons?) Virginia also got a boost when, with five minutes remaining in the half, Laughlin Ryan checked in. Ryan had crumpled to the deck late in the NC State game and I had feared for the worst for a young woman who has torn her ACL on three separate occasions. It was good to see her playing because she provides depth for a midfield that is woefully thin. 

The second half belonged to Jill Flammia. If there is a criticism I can make of a Steve Swanson team it is that it can be too methodical, too deliberate. Rarely do the Hoos play with urgency. Flammia was the exception and she was the player going most directly at goal. She had three of Virginia’s first five shots in the second half, but it was midway through the half when she made her mark.

The goal came off a lovely counter. Allie Ross got the ball well in her own half. She played a lovely ball down the wing to Maggie Cagle who cut to the baseline before crossing the ball to the on-rushing Flammia for the header. Take a look below, but what stands out to me is Flammia’s run to put herself in position. That’s a woman who wanted to score.

Cagle to Flammia for the score!

Great find by Allie Ross to get the whole play started!#GoHoos | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/iKIZrXmnGi

— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) October 20, 2023

With the win, Virginia has pulled into contention. Here’s the standings:

Current ACC Women's Soccer Standings / TheACC.com

The top five teams are in the ACC tournament: Florida State, Clemson, Notre Dame, UNC and Pittsburgh. Here’s where an unbalanced schedule has helped Virginia this year. UVa avoided FSU, Notre Dame and Pitt and got all the bottom feeders.

That middle is pretty clustered as Wake Forest, currently sixth, is separated by just one point from a quartet of Virginia, Duke, NC State and Virginia Tech. Virginia has the easiest road to six points over the last two games playing the two worst teams in the conference, Syracuse and Boston College.

Duke: Florida State and Louisville
Wake: Louisville and Miami
NC State: Notre Dame and Florida State
Virginia Tech: Miami and Pitt

Wake’s path is the most manageable of those four, but they have only won two games in the ACC out of eight played. Are they going to be able to run the table to secure the sixth spot?

Virginia is going to go into the final week of the season with the chance to win out and actually make the ACC tournament, something I never thought possible given the poor results the team had earlier this season. And that’s the most one can ask of your team.

Next Up: Sunday, October 22nd the Cavaliers host Boston College for Senior Day. The AD says that six women will be honored and I’m curious about who is leaving. The team has four graduate students and nine seniors which means that a of them are returning. We’ll find out Sunday who is going to be a Cavalier next year.

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