Under the lights of Klöckner Stadium, No. 4 Virginia (3-0-0) cruised by Michigan State (1-1-1) by a score of 3-0.
Clearly energized by a raucous crowd, the Cavaliers looked very strong and dominated possession throughout the game against an overmatched Spartan team.
There were some missed chances early for Virginia, as it was denied goals by the post a couple of times early in the fixture.
Though in control throughout the game, the Cavaliers were unable to get on the score sheet until the 30th minute when senior midfielder Alexis Shaffer latched onto junior forward Veronica Latsko’s assist and fired a shot from the top of the box into the bottom right corner of Michigan State’s goal.
Shaffer said she was happy to kick off the scoring for her team and pleased with how the team played overall.
“Offensively we kept our shape, and I think we just tried to move the ball as much as possible and then got some good opportunities and got some good goals,” Shaffer said. “I don't think they came out and attacked as much as I thought they would. Our defense did well and we pressed really hard offensively so they didn’t really get many chances to get behinds us. I think our conversion rate should be better, but in the end I’m happy at the result.”
Virginia followed up by scoring a near buzzer-beating goal just before the stroke of halftime. Sophomore midfielder Montana Sutton booted junior defender Olivia Hazelrigg’s assist into the top right corner of the Spartans’ goal to give the Cavaliers a comfortable 2-0 lead at the half.
“It was a corner and I made my run to my zone and then it got re-served so I just got my head on the ball and just tried to get it on frame” Sutton said. The goal marked the first of Sutton’s career at Virginia. “It was awesome, definitely a cool moment for me,” Sutton said.
To cap off the scoring, in the 49th minute, freshman forward Taylor Ziemer scored an unassisted goal from a rocket strike that rattled in off the bar and into the top right-hand corner to move the Cavaliers into the ascendancy with a 3-0 lead.
Head coach Steve Swanson discussed how hard his team has worked and how his players are continually improving as the season progresses.
“I feel like we’ve gotten better in every game,” Swanson said. “It’s hard playing so many games in rapid succession, as you don’t have a lot of time to get too much training in, but we did some teaching through video, and I actually think we have gotten better. We got the ball in the attacking third and finished some chances tonight.”
The Cavaliers did not even allow a shot on the evening, outshooting the Spartans 25-0 and looking impressive in their third straight shutout victory.
“We didn’t get our defense tested much, but I’m pleased with how we looked without too much training,” Swanson said. “I really challenged the team at the half to keep the quality up because I felt our quality dipped in the second half against George Mason, and I thought we did a better job today.”
Going forward, the Cavaliers will play Old Dominion — a team that Swanson certainly is not going to underestimate — this Sunday at 2 p.m.
“They’re well-coached and organized, so it’ll be a tough game,” Swanson said. “We expect a hard-fought game. They’re a team that defends very well, and I think they have some things on the offensive end that we need to be careful of as well. It’ll be a good test for us at this time.”
The team is beginning to gel together effectively, and if they can put it all together and convert all the chances they are taking more efficiently, the Cavaliers could be lethal going forward.
“I just think with games and with opportunities to play together ... the more we train and play together, I think it’s going to help us,” Swanson said. “It’s nice, and it doesn’t happen often that we get to play as many players as we have over the last couple of games, and it’s nice to get some younger players some experience and give them opportunities.”
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