Sunday afternoon in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as the dogwoods, elms and oaks further transformed into their brilliant hues, Virginia women’s soccer showed there is also beauty in consistency.
The Cavaliers (10-1-1, 4-1-0 ACC) played their brand of soccer and took care of business with a 1-0 win over Wake Forest (4-9-2, 1-5-0 ACC). Virginia came out firing in the first half, doubling the Demon Deacons in shots, with eight total.
Cavalier junior keeper Morgan Stearns had a danger-free half compared to her Wake Forest counterpart, freshman Nonie Frishette. On that end of the pitch, the young keeper faced mad scrambles in the box and untouchable strikes, the first of which came at 9:28, when senior forward Brittany Ratcliffe’s long-range strike ricocheted off the crossbar.
Not long after, the Cavaliers netted what would be the game winner. A Wake Forest deflection landed directly at the feet of junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer, who finished professionally and undoubtedly into the right upper-90 for her sixth goal of the 2015 campaign. With the score, Shaffer reclaimed the title of sole team leader in points [17] from junior forward Morgan Reuther [15].
The Virginia defensive effort was again praiseworthy. Senior center back Emily Sonnett — who deservedly receives the spotlight every round of post-game interviews — forced overly ambitious shots from her opponents and kept the ensemble in unison. The back four has allowed a meager .43 goals per game, including Sunday’s shutout.
Wake Forest did well to manufacture two key chances, though. At 46:18, freshman midfielder Peyton Perea headed wide left of the frame. Stearns would have had little hope of stopping the redirect had it been angled on target.
Then at 55:11, following a Demon Deacon free kick and some ensuing havoc, sophomore midfielder Maddie Huster eventually ended up with the ball in a threatening position. Huster uncoiled a shot that rose a foot or two above the crossbar, out of harm’s way.
Frishette kept her team in the game with a huge diving stop at 80:20 to deny Shaffer of a second goal, but her offense — which subbed in fresh legs during the closing minutes — couldn’t equalize. The Cavalier defense snuffed out any sparks.
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