Virginia Women’s Soccer Falls at NC State 2-1

The Cavaliers’ season is effectively over after spotting the Wolfpack a pair of early goals

After eking out a pair of draws in what were must-win games for placing in the ACC Tournament, the Virginia women faced a must-win game against NC State for any hope of making it to the NCAA Tournament. The women lost 2-1 after NC State blitzed the Cavaliers for two goals in the game’s opening twelve minutes. Virginia was eventually able to take control of the game and were on the front foot for the last hour, but were unable to score more than that single goal. A Virginia program that had never gone more than four games without a win has now gone six and I think it is safe to say that Virginia’s streak of 23 consecutive years going to the NCAA tourney is now over.

Virginia started the game like a team on a mission, playing the ball much faster than the deliberate pace we’ve seen over the years. Central midfielder Alexis Theoret had four touches in the first minute, and as regular readers know, that has been one of the markers for me of a successful Virginia midfield game. Right back Chloe Japic was getting forward, another good sign I thought, when just five minutes in, NC State hit Virginia with a quick counter to Jameese Joseph. Right in the space that Japic had vacated. She drove hard into the box and crossed the ball right into Samar Guidry’s shoulder and the ball ricocheted into the net. It seemed to me it was an own goal, but the statistician was being generous in awarding it to Joseph. 

This was the first goal that Virginia had surrendered in the first half all season, and it rocked the team, as NC State, understandably energized, pressed Virginia hard in the midfield. Six minutes later a beautiful Hannah Jibril cross found an unmarked Annika Wohner who hit the ball on the full volley into the back of the net. 2-0 and it looked like it would turn into a rout when four minutes later, Wohner rose to meet another lovely cross that she headed just over the goal.

Bear in mind, this is a bad NC State team, having dropped their last two games 4-0 against UNC and 4-1 versus Virginia Tech. Virginia looked as disjointed as they have at any time this season. For the sixth time in the last four games, I wrote in my book that Virginia’s passes just seemed… off. Multiple unforced errors, just missing players, and even when they did, hitting their teammate on the back foot and not in stride. Do that too many times and you don’t control midfield. I cannot explain it, but I have no idea why a midfield of Yuna McCormack, Alexis Theoret and Jill Flammia have not been able to control the middle of the pitch; the second half of the UNC game notwithstanding. NC State shouldn’t be able to outplay Virginia this way. It got so bad for Virginia that at the 29-minute mark, Maggie Cagle flopped. She was fouled, but she went to ground way too easily. It seemed to me a tacit admission that the team couldn’t keep up with the Wolfpack on the pitch.

But stop me if you’ve read this before: these women do not give up. And with the clock starting to tick down on the season, Virginia finally played Virginia ball. Over the last 20 minutes of the half, the women had five shots on goal – all while shutting NC State down – and five corners. And they were hard done by the ref who missed an egregious handball in the penalty box. Seriously, the ref was 10 yards away and was watching the play. I have no idea how she missed it. Scoring before the half would have been a huge jolt for the team, but it was not to be.

In the second half Virginia outclassed NC State, getting 14 shots. NC State withdrew to defend deep and Virginia pounded them. At halftime Swanson had said he was going to make some tactical changes and what he did was insert Guidry as a central defender (replacing Lacey McCormack) and then playing her alongside Japic. Between the two of them, Japic and Guidry owned the left side of the pitch in a way that hasn’t happened all season. Japic had several lovely crosses and Sarah Brunner on the right may have played her best half of soccer this season. Even on a narrow pitch, Virginia was finally getting good wide play.

The goal came midway through the second half. Cagle drove down the right and connected with a diving Allie Ross to halve the Wolfpack lead. 2-1 and it was game on. Virginia would throw the kitchen sink at the NC State defense, hitting the cross bar twice, but it was too little, too late. The sad realization is that Virginia, with their season on the line, couldn’t beat an NC State team that has, now, only won two games all year. The other team they beat? Charlotte.

Virginia is still winless in the ACC at 0-3-3. Sure, winnable games against Virginia Tech, Miami and bottom feeders Syracuse and Boston College remain, but really, last week, I thought this game would have been a win. Virginia’s RPI is 95, and victories over all four of those teams won’t really move the needle any. The women will just be playing for pride the next two weeks.

Injury News: One of the most heartwarming stories of the team this season has been the return of Laughlin Ryan to the pitch. A senior, she played her first game this year, and when she entered against Nevada, it was the loudest ovation Klöckner has seen all season. Ryan had torn her ACL on three separate occasions in her career. It’s been a joy to see her play, and besides the human interest, she’s been a fine addition to a team decimated in midfield. Unfortunately, in the 71st minute Ryan collapsed, in the absence of contact, to the pitch. Swanson recognized the injury for what it was and rushed onto the pitch. I fear that Ryan’s injury is going to be a perfect metaphor for the women’s season, one that started with great hope and ends with a whimper. To leave this piece on a high note, and highlight the irony, the Virginia athletic department released this interview with Ryan this week.

“The best part is just being able to feel like I’m fully a part of the team and helping the program in any kind of way." - Senior midfielder Laughlin Ryan#GoHoos | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/kF169giGro

— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) October 7, 2023

Next Up: Virginia heads home to host Virginia Tech on Sunday, October 15th. Game time is 1:30 and the game is on the ACC Network.

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