Friday evening under a blue-grey sky, the Virginia women’s soccer team starters took the pitch, eager to defend their historic 33-game home-winning streak.
Virginia (3-0-0) bombarded Cal Poly keeper Alyssa Giannetti from the first whistle, including a series of shots from point-blank range around the 1:30 mark. Giannetti did well to pin the ball on the goal line, while Cavalier cleats jabbed at glory.
Again and again, the Mustangs allowed Virginia midfielders to link up with attackers in the final third. Senior forward Makenzy Doniak — a frontrunner for the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy — wove her way around defenders only to find more waiting. Some refer to Cal Poly’s scheme as “parking the bus.”
“Coach has the phrase, ‘Use the flanks!’” senior defender Emily Sonnett said. “He wants us to move the ball outside to play inside, especially when a defense is cramming the middle of the field.”
Cavalier wings and outside backs made dangerous runs and sent balls across the box. But Giannetti and her defenders thwarted each threat, silencing the foot stomping that reverberates around Klöckner each time Virginia is in striking distance. Still, it was only a matter of time.
At 14:57, sophomore forward Veronica Latsko connected with freshman midfielder Courtney Peterson, who buried the ball into the back of the net. Teammates flooded towards an elated Peterson, who’d just scored her first career goal at Virginia.
“The feeling after that first goal was an amazing one,” Peterson said. “I wasn’t expecting to get the ball there or even to hit it that well. So I was surprised. Then, yeah, I was really excited.”
Less than 10 minutes after the Cavaliers finally broke the tie, Peterson shook her defender near the left corner flag and broke down the end line. Her cross floated over Giannetti’s outstretched arms and found Sonnett, who headed it home.
Virginia entered the half with a 2-0 lead, though the team’s number of shots [16] and corners [10] probably could have made it a more comfortable gap. The Mustangs still had hope, so they turned up the pressure and physicality in the second half.
“Teams are going to be physical with us,” Swanson said. “We’ve got to be smart about how we respond: increase our speed and use that aggressiveness against them. But credit to Cal Poly for turning up the pressure there.”
The Virginia back line, led by Sonnett — who garnered a yellow card at 64:19 for a rough-tackle response — kept its shape and prevented any real opportunities for Mustang forwards until the clock struck zero. The attack sputtered — in part due to the absence of Doniak, who subbed out after an awkward stride midway through the half.
Coach Swanson could tolerate a 2-0 win, despite converting just 2 of their 31 shots into goals.
“Cal Poly is a good team. They’re hard and they are tough to break down at times. I think they will win their share of games this year, so that was a good win for us.”
The Cavaliers made up for their inefficiencies in scoring Sunday afternoon, as they ran the Blue Hens into the ground, putting up six goals and allowing just one.
At the 10:20 mark, an already fatigued Delaware defender whiffed on a clearance, which landed right at the feet of freshman midfielder Betsy Brandon. Brandon nailed the ball past the keeper and a defender who stood helplessly at the near post for her first career goal as a Cavalier.
Less than three minutes later, junior defender Kristen McNabb delivered a 40-yard lob to junior forward Morgan Reuther, who chipped the oncoming goalie in a creative fashion.
With Delaware unable to hold possession, the Cavalier offense continued to buzz around in the attacking third. At 25:27, senior midfielder Brittany Ratcliffe found herself in the right place at the right time. Junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer’s shot rolled to Ratcliffe’s feet, and she converted the rebound into Virginia’s third goal of the game.
“Well, I was so nervous,” Ratcliffe said. “I was like, oh my gosh, you cannot miss this. And it fortunately bounced at the end and spun a little — it was also so slow too, but it went in and that’s all that matters.”
The Cavaliers scored three more times Sunday. At the 33rd minute, freshman forward Lorato Sargeant’s second effort with her left foot found the back of the net. Sargeant became the third freshman over the weekend to score her first goal at Virginia.
25 minutes after Sargeant’s tally, another freshman, Courtney Petersen, redirected a cross above a defender positioned on the weak post for her second goal of the tournament. Then, senior forward Veronica Latsko — who had the tough task of filling the injured Doniak’s shoes — drilled a shot from the top of the 20-yard box, which snuck below the crossbar and above the keepers’ arms.
The Blue Hens did get a goal when junior midfielder Nikki Adams slipped a ball past the Cavalier wall to freshman forward Riley Curtin. Curtin curved a shot around defenders into the side-netting.
“Giving up that first goal was disappointing, especially because we focused on not getting scored on off set plays,” Brandon said. “And that was a quick one that we weren’t really prepared for. We need to continue to stay sharp in the minds and get better defensively on set plays.”
Overall, Virginia is pleased with where it is this early in the season. The team is back in action Sept. 4 and 6 when it travels to the West Coast to take on nationally-ranked foes UCLA and Pepperdine. Kickoffs for the games are scheduled for 10 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
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