Cavaliers Now

Virginia Women’s Soccer Comes on Late to Defeat Miami 3-1

Despite missing a penalty, the Cavaliers score twice late to pull away from the Hurricanes

Val Prochaska

Virginia women's soccer, now ranked No. 2 in the country, remained unbeaten with a 3-1 victory at Miami on Thursday night.
Virginia women's soccer, now ranked No. 2 in the country, remained unbeaten with a 3-1 victory at Miami on Thursday night. / Virginia Athletics

The second season has begun!  Long live the ACC slate, where the games actually mean something and the games get harder.

Though to be frank, I was expecting an easier entry in the ACC season as Miami has been quite woeful over most of the past decade, firmly rooted to the bottom of the table and averaging just two wins a year in ACC play.  This iteration of Miami is much better and features freshman Giovana Canali who has already won ACC Offensive Player of the Week accolades. 

On the day, though, the Miami high press was the story of the game as Miami harried Virginia’s back line into numerous turnovers, pinned wingbacks Laney Rouse and Samar Guidry far further back then they wanted, and allowed the Hurricanes to control midfield for much of the game. 

Adrianna Serna had a blinder of a first half, slipping behind Guidry repeatedly and delivering four or five crosses that had me reminiscing about Courtney Peterson’s time at Virginia.  In the second half, Gisselle Kozarski took over for the Canes who was a bit more successful actually connecting with Canali.

This was a promising outing for Miami, and with a new coach looking for a statement win facing off with a Virginia team that has a donut hole in midfield.  Miami flooded the midfield, pressed high and played fast to take advantage of Virginia head coach Steve Swanson’s 5 – 2 – 3.  Virginia’s back five really struggled to build out from the back.  Rouse and Guidry were unable to get forward much, keeper Viki Safradin’s poor distribution was exposed, and a two-person midfield just didn’t provide sufficient targets for the centerback trio of Kiki Maki, Tatum Galvin and Moira Kelley.

I’d pretty much written the above verbatim in my notes, just six minutes into the game, when Virginia got a free kick 35 yards out.  Alexis Theoret took the free kick (she took over the job last year in Lia Godfrey’s absence and hasn’t let go.)  She hit a lovely ball that Miami keeper Gray Willson lost in the scrum, and the ball slipped into the back of the net.  Very much against the run of play, but it gave Virginia the 1-0 lead.

Miami was undeterred and kept pressing.  Guidry and Godfrey, who played their best games of the season last weekend against Howard, were slower on the ball and not nearly as effective.  Rouse doesn’t look as comfortable playing wingback in a five-back line as she does as the outside back in a more traditional 4 – 3 – 3.   This new formation just doesn’t fit, but I presume it’s meant to counter UVa’s losses in midfield and that the team will revert back to standard once Yuna McCormack returns from the U20 Women’s World Cup.

In the 27th minute, and very much against the run of play, Maggie Cagle was brought down in the box, and the subsequent penalty could have blown the game open.  But Cagle missed it as keeper Gray Willson made a fine jump on the ball.  Instead of being demoralized, the Canes were rejuvenated. With three minutes remaining in the half, and having forced their sixth corner of the game, Miami’s Crosby Nicholson skied up to nod home the equalizer. 

Virginia can go a couple of games before giving up half a dozen corners, but when you allow a team to knock, knock, knock on the door, sooner or later you’re going to pay the price.

A missed PK, a lovely goal for Miami, halftime…  Miami had everything to play for in the second half to secure a desperately-needed Top-5 win. Swanson was ready, though, and countered with an additional midfielder.  Not coincidentally, Virginia took control of the game.  Godfrey and Guidry had much better second halves and Theoret took over in midfield.

Then with 13 minutes left in the game, Virginia scored the back breaker on a counter that started with Ella Carter who slipped the ball past Sophia Bradley who turned on the jets, and had her shot inside the box deflected by a defender.  The ball fell to an on-rushing Allie Ross who slipped the ball into the goal.

Just two minutes later, Theoret took another free kick and Tatum Galvin picked the ball out of the air and slotted home a third goal.  It was Galvin’s first career goal and in a very good sign, she was the 11th player to score a goal for the Cavaliers.  The last time Virginia had this many different goal-scorers this early in the season, Virginia spent eight weeks at #1 and was favored to win the ACC tournament before a season-ending injury to keeper Laurel Ivory.  Nine of Virginia’s 22 goals this season have come off of set pieces, and this has long been a weakness for a program as strong as Virginia’s has been.

With the win, Virginia moves to 8-0 on the season and has already gotten off to a better start than last year.

Next Up:  Virginia returns home to host Wake Forest on Sunday, September 15th.  Game time is 12:00 noon and the game will be on ACC Network Extra.

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Val Prochaska

VAL PROCHASKA

Val graduated from the University of Virginia in the last millennium, back when writing one's senior thesis by hand was still a thing. He is a lifelong fan of the ACC, having chosen the Tobacco Road conference ahead of the Big East. Again, when that was still a thing. Val has covered Virginia men's basketball for seven years, first with HoosPlace and then with StreakingTheLawn, before joining us here at Virginia Cavaliers on SI in August of 2023, continuing to cover UVA men's basketball and also writing about women's soccer and women's basketball.