The Virginia women’s soccer team found itself in a familiar scenario as it went into overtime for the sixth time this season, and the third time in a row, against Clemson Saturday night at home.
While Virginia (8-3-4, 3-1-3 ACC) created more opportunities than its opponent — outshooting Clemson (8-4-2, 2-3-2 ACC) 15-4 – the 110-minute match resulted in a scoreless draw between the two ACC sides.
“It was a hard-fought game, and we certainly had our chances,” Virginia Coach Steve Swanson said. “But it was difficult to not get a goal tonight, and we have to take responsibility for that. It’s our quality when we move forward to get the ball in the attacking third. We weren’t good enough tonight against a very competitive and organized Clemson team. This is what we’ve been getting, and we have to do a better job breaking teams down.”
The Cavaliers have scored 23 goals this season — at this time last season, they had 38 goals.
Another difference between this season and last year is that while Virginia only went to overtime twice in 2016, six matches have gone beyond regulation time this year. Four out of those six overtime games have resulted in ties. The seniors have stepped up in the two instances when the Cavaliers were able to get the golden goal, with Virginia senior defender Megan Reid scoring the game-winner against West Virginia and Virginia senior forward Veronica Latsko scoring the game-winner against Louisville.
While the Cavaliers have faced offensive struggles, they have put up a strong defensive front. Virginia freshman goalkeeper Laurel Ivory has only let in one goal in the past four games and has not conceded a goal in an overtime match.
“Some positives are that we haven’t been giving up a lot of goals, and the effort is there,” Swanson said. “We looked solid defensively tonight. There are some things to grab onto, but in the attacking end we have to be better. That was the difference tonight.”
Virginia now hits the road for two ACC games. First up, the Cavaliers will travel to Syracuse for a Thursday night game. Then, Virginia will take on Boston College on Sunday afternoon. The Cavaliers will then finish up the regular season Oct. 26 when they host Duke, who sits on top of the ACC standings with an undefeated record within the conference.
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