Wahoo Wire

The Lady Cavaliers added their 12th win to this season’s record after defeating the Clemson Tigers 3-0. For the first 30 minutes of the game, UVA held constant possession on the attack. The Hoos took 10 shots on goal and were awarded 5 corner kicks, but were unable to capitalize on any of these opportunities. In the 36^th minute of the game, Virginia’s Danielle Colaprico dribbled the ball to the top of the box and passed it in to Morgan Brian. Brian maneuvered around a defender and shot it straight through the legs of Clemson’s goalie for the first goal of the game and her 5^th goal of the season. The half ended 1-0 after 14 attempts by UVA to Clemson’s 0.

After watching UVA control the ball the entire first half, Clemson came out motivated to play in the second. The Tigers battled with the Cavaliers at mid-field and were able to make their first significant penetration into UVA territory. Luckily for the Hoos, Clemson’s first shot on goal went wide and their second was saved by Virginia goalkeeper, Chantel Jones. The Lady Cavaliers regained their composure and made their way back down the field. After another two missed shots, Virginia’s Lauren Alwine had possession of the ball at the top of the box and passed it through two defenders to Gloria Douglass. Douglas, undefended, took three steps and drilled the ball over the goalie’s head into the top right corner of the net for her 5^th goal of the season.

Clemson, clearly still not willing to give up, tried to battle their way back. However, the Tigers only took 2 more shots on goal, to UVA’s total of 13 shots, just in the second half. Virginia put their third and final goal on the scoreboard with 20 minutes left. After a corner kick, Virginia’s Olivia Brannon took a header, recovered the rebound off a Clemson player, and sent the ball spinning past the goalie for her second goal of the season.

The Lady Cavaliers are now on a three game winning streak and are picking up some much needed momentum after tying #4 Duke and losing to #6 Wake Forest at the end of September. The team has 2 more games left before the start of the ACC tournament. Olivia Brannon said these two games are crucial for the team’s morale and that she’s ready to come out and play her best to take down rival school Virginia Tech next game. Danielle Colaprico said, “Obviously, we want to win out so that we can have home field advantage, but we really just have to continue to play some good soccer and come together as a team.”

In the game, UVA took a total of 27 shots. Even more impressive than the sheer number of shots taken, was that of the 18 players who took the field, 12 took a shot, showing Virginia’s depth and ability to play as a team. Head Coach Steve Swanson was proud of his team’s capacity to make these opportunities for themselves, but was frustrated with the inability to finish. However, he added that, “I often times think that at this part of the season it’s the teams that are still getting better that are going to go further in the post season.” If Coach Swanson is right, the Lady Cavaliers should certainly be excited about the approaching tournament.