It took over 55 minutes for the Virginia women’s soccer team to break through Sunday against No. 19 Duke. Toeing the end line, junior left back Tina Iordaneu slipped a pass to junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer, who smacked a one-timer past the Blue Devil keeper for her fifth goal of the season.
“I ran into the box, and [the ball] was kind of like jumbling around the outside,” Shaffer said. “Then Tina took a touch, and I scurried back a little bit. She played me an awesome ball, and I just finished it near post.”
The Cavaliers (8-1-1, 2-1-0 ACC) didn’t start Sunday’s match as coach Steve Swanson would’ve hoped. Coming off the double-overtime loss Thursday to Notre Dame, Virginia was lackadaisical in the first ten minutes and out of sync offensively until halftime. Swanson emphasized a tactic during the break, which proved to be the difference.
“They had a pretty low [defensive] block, centrally focused,” Swanson said. “We kept going into that [in the first half]. So we talked about trying to slip balls in behind that block or get around it. We switched the point a little bit better in the second half. That’s what happened on the goal.”
Had junior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns not made an incredible first-half save, the Cavaliers would've only leveled the score with Shaffer's goal. Ten minutes in, Duke midfielder Taylor Racioppi — a member of the Under-20 U.S. National Team in 2015 — spun a shot towards the right corner. Diving to her left, Stearns slapped the ball with her hand and prevented an early 0-1 hole.
The Blue Devils had their own huge, out-of-nowhere save in the second half. At 73:52, freshman defender Chelsea Burns booted an Iordanou header off the goal line to keep the score 1-0. Virginia still couldn’t get breathing room.
“I was definitely disappointed [that we didn’t get a second goal],” Shaffer said. “We had a couple of opportunities. You know, because that would’ve clinched the win and made the last ten minutes easier.”
Duke forwards pressed for an equalizer but didn’t really challenge Stearns. Their few shots in the final minutes either went right at her or wide of the frame. The Cavaliers shielded the ball at the corner flags, stopped to tie their laces and stalled on throw-ins, signs of a team that wants to win above all else.
“We always want wins, because that’s how you make it to the ACC Tournament,” Shaffer said. “That’s how you make it far in the NCAA Tournament, make a high seed, so I think this [one] helps a lot.”
The final whistle sounded, and Virginia secured the 1-0 win over another top-25 opponent Sunday. The Cavaliers haven’t lost consecutive games since 2009 (road games at Boston College and UNC), a testament to their greatest characteristic.
“It just comes down to pride,” Iordanou said. “I don’t think as a team we were exceptionally proud of how we played on Thursday night. Just to come out on Sunday — we knew that if we outworked this team and played our game we had a good opportunity to win.”
Sunday’s win came at a cost, though. Around the 35th minute, sparkplug freshman forward Courtney Peterson went down with a knee injury. If she and junior midfielder Meghan Cox — who missed both games this week with an ankle injury — are both sidelined, the Cavaliers will lose something coach Swanson knows is critical to success in conference play.
“You can see how important depth is,” Swanson said. “These were two tough games this week, and even though you have an extra day in between, it’s really important that we get our depth. You can’t play these games with 11 players.”
Virginia benefited Sunday from another strong home crowd. Total attendance at Klöckner in 2015 has exceeded 16,000 – over 2,000 a game. In comparison, Cavalier opponents have played in front of an average of 1,200 fans per match. Virginia neither takes its home field for granted nor shies away from road stands like the one that begins next weekend at N.C. State.
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