Cavaliers Now

Virginia Women’s Soccer Gets Back on Track, Knocks off NC State 3-0

On Senior Night, Chloe Japic and Camryn Miller put on a show at Klöckner

Val Prochaska

Virginia Athletics

Signs that a program might be in trouble: 

For the past eight years that I have been watching this women’s program closely, Senior Night has always been held on the last home Sunday of the season.  But this is not a typical season, and with the Cavaliers reeling and in the midst of a four-game losing streak, the team scrambled to make a Thursday night game against NC State, by most metrics the worst team in the ACC, Senior Night.  I get it.  You want to send off your seniors victorious.  My high school football team featured as other team’s homecomings fodder three or four times a year.

Such was the motivation for slating Senior Night to the Wolfpack.

And it paid off in spades.

It took 45 seconds for Virginia to open the scoring.  Sophia Bradley, getting her second straight start, fed an overlapping Laney Rouse on the wing.  Rouse crossed the ball to the back post where Maggie Cagle was waiting. Cagle slotted the ball across to Meredith McDermott and she poked it home.  One nothing to the Cavaliers and an absolute dream start to the game.

Three minutes later, a Virginia counter off of an NC State corner afforded Yuna McCormack a great look at goal.  Five minutes after that, Cagle would drive into the box and deliver a wicked shot that squarely hit the upright.  Virginia was cruising and looking to exorcise 360 minutes of demons in a rush.

The rush didn’t exactly materialize.  The Cavaliers must have had over 70% of the possession and they had 16 shots in the first half.  (For the year, the women are averaging 15 shots per game.)  The goal scoring bugaboos that have plagued UVa all season – a lack of speed to get behind the back line and a non-existent aerial game – were in full force.  Late in the half, announcer Jen Hildreth wondered, “How in this game, for all of Virginia’s dominance on the ball, is the score still just 1-0?”

Good question indeed.

The second half started out the same with Virginia controlling the pace and the tempo, looking very much like a top 10 team pummeling a worse team.  10 minutes into the half, Chloe Japic made the game her own, and more importantly, brought the fans to life.  Japic took a ball to the face denying a Wolfpack cross.  She immediately hopped up, smiling all the while, and made a lovely slide tackle to thwart an NC State attack.  A minute later she drove into the box and hit a wicked left-footer that almost snuck into the near post for that elusive second goal.  That sequence of play elicited some of the loudest cheers from Klöckner that I have heard over a telecast.

Virginia’s high press press, for just about the first time all season, was clicking, the fans were engaged… and somehow NC State clawed their way back into the game.  Because soccer is a strange game, and for all the continuing revolutions in metrics and statistical analysis, we’ve never been able to quantify momentum.  Virginia had had it, and then lost it.  NC State got it and for about 10 minutes, it was their press that was causing Virginia problems.  The Wolfpack was able to string together more than three or four passes, and they were successful in attacking Samar Guidry on the right.

Desperate for a goal of their own, and needing a win as much as Virginia, NC State threw numbers forward.  Two wicked crosses and a dangerous corner later, and Wolfpack fans could be excused for thinking the equalizer was near.

And then Yuna McCormack shredded the NC State defense with a long ball to spring McDermott.  Allie Ross, who’s greatest strength might be her weakside runs, ran straight to the penalty spot and coolly slotted home McDermott’s feed.

Four minutes later Cagle got to the endline and found Maya Carter at the top of the six-yard box for the third goal.  Game. Set. Match.

All that was left was for little-used keeper Camryn Miller to make her Senior Night contribution, and preserve the shut-out, with this save with a little over a minute remaining.

With the win, Virginia moves to 2 – 4 in the ACC.  This win alone doesn’t move the needle much.  Virginia is now solely in 13th place in the ACC, as opposed to being in a three-way tie for 13th.  If this were basketball, we would say that Virginia has one Quad 1 win to go with their four Quad 1 losses.  But being that this is the ACC, the women have played the 16th most difficult schedule in the nation, and with games coming up with Virginia Tech and Florida State, there are more “Quad 1” victories possible.  Only six teams will go to the ACC Tournament, but the ACC has sent as many as 10 teams to the NCAA Tourney.  Virginia has a slim chance, but chance it is.  And that’s all we can ask.

Senior Night

Recognized on this night were Alexis Theoret, Emma Dawson, Samar Guidry, Chloe Japic, Moira Kelley, Degen Miller and Camryn Miller.  Kelley has only been here for one year while Dawson has been here for six.  It has been a pleasure to watch all of them grow and I’m pretty sure that Theoret is my all-time favorite Hoo, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to any regular readers.  I will miss her very much.

But looking at this list, it would appear that Lia Godfrey and Laney Rouse will return for their redshirt years that they earned by missing all of last season.  On a team that is desperate for speed, Rouse is the fastest player Virginia has.  And a midfield of Godfrey, Yuna McCormack and Jill Flammia is as good as any in the nation.

Next Up

The Cavaliers host the SMU Mustangs on Sunday, October 13th.  Gametime is 1:00pm and the game is on ACC Network Extra.  Time to get started on a winning streak.

Published
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.