Thursday night under the lights, No. 3 Virginia women’s soccer overcame a series of unfortunate events from the 11th to the 15th minute against No. 7 Clemson.
At 11:19, junior defender Tina Iordanou cut back and sent a dribbler towards a cluster of Cavalier teammates. Tiger junior goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan froze in anticipation of a redirection, so the ball trickled untouched towards the right corner. It bounded kindly for Clemson (9-2-1, 3-2-0 ACC) off the right post and safely away.
Less than a minute later, junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer — who led Virginia (9-1-1, 3-1-0 ACC) in points with 14 entering Thursday's match — sent a scorcher off the left post for another near miss. In self-preservation mode, the Tigers picked up their physicality. They bullied and barged into Cavalier players without much warning from the referees.
Senior forward Brittany Ratcliffe’s apparent shoulder injury at 15:11 – a seemingly third bad break for Virginia – occurred without contact though. Ratcliffe lost her footing and landed awkwardly on her shoulder. During the second round of the NCAA tournament a season ago, Ratcliffe dislocated her shoulder but toughed it out in a 3-0 win over Rutgers. On that November day she netted the third and final goal for the Cavaliers.
Thursday night Ratcliffe again ignored the pain. This time, though, her score came first. Two minutes into the second half, Ratcliffe settled a deflection and struck well from the top of the eighteen. Sheridan lost her bearings and, attempting to punch the ball over the frame of the goal, advanced the ball into the back of the net. Virginia had its lead then and wouldn’t let up.
A resilient senior Emily Sonnett, bloody-faced and bruised from a collision for a fifty-fifty ball, led the Cavalier defense until the final whistle.
She and her fellow defenders kept Clemson junior forward Catrina Atanda in check besides a volley from Atanda that just bent wide of the goal around the 18th minute. The dangerous Tiger attacker tallied two more shots, but zero were on target. Sonnett also handled freshman defender Samantha Staab’s long throw-ins, which always threatened to be flicked on frame, with composed clearances and communication.
The proverbial nail in the coffin for Clemson came at 83:27. Freshman forward Courtney Peterson, who returned to action after an injury scare against Duke, crossed beautifully to junior forward Morgan Reuther. Reuther looped a header over Sheridan into the right corner and under the crossbar for her team-leading seventh goal of the season. Game over.
After two out-of-character performances, Virginia had returned to form and restored order in the ACC.
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