On a frigid Sunday evening in Charlottesville, the No. 1 Virginia women’s soccer team shut out Wake Forest 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament’s third round, just two days after beating Georgetown in the second round 1-0. The Cavaliers did not allow a shot on goal in either contest and have yet to be scored on in three tournament games.
The Cavaliers (23-1-0, 13-0 ACC) put the Hoyas on the defensive Friday from the first whistle to the final, and held Georgetown — the nation’s third highest scoring offense — to just a single shot. The Hoyas, however, were able to keep the usually high-octane Cavalier offense under control by packing the middle of the field with 10 players — a tactic that was effective for the majority of the game.
In the first half of Sunday’s contest, Wake Forest (12-7-1, 5-6-2 ACC) took a page out of Georgetown’s playbook as the Demon Deacons played a highly compressed style of defense in an effort to thwart the Cavalier attack. But early on Virginia was able to find a bit of space to maneuver, highlighted by a strike from sophomore forward Makenzy Doniak that clanged off the near post.
Doniak and company continued to press the Demon Deacon defense, forcing them to retreat further and further into the defensive third. Doniak accounted for two more legitimate chances that each required brilliant saves from Wake Forest senior goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe.
“I thought we got the ball in good positions in the first half, we just lacked some quality in our service,” coach Steve Swanson said. “We definitely did well for the first 45, but they are a resilient team, so we had to be patient.”
The Demon Deacons were able to counter on a handful of occasions, but their progress into Virginia’s half never posed a serious threat. The best chance of the half for Wake Forest came on what appeared to be a breakaway, but Cavalier freshman keeper Morgan Stearns charged out of the box to make the easy clear.
Virginia entered the intermission with a 6-0 shot advantage and possessed all of the momentum, despite not scoring a goal. Just 30 seconds into the second half, the Cavaliers capitalized on that energy, finally breaking through when freshman forward Alexis Shaffer took the ball deep into the right flank and crossed the ball in front of the goal. The ball ricocheted off the crossbar and landed at the feet of Doniak, who rocketed the ball into the top of the net to give Virginia the lead.
“We had a lot of chances in the first half and we just weren’t able to put it away,” Doniak said. “To get the first goal was great. It was a great cross from [Shaffer]. I think it helped our momentum even more and we were just on fire from there.”
Shaffer was not done, however, and just three minutes later she found herself in the same position to the right of the Demon Deacon goal. This time, she stopped and passed the ball backwards to a waiting Morgan Brian, and the junior midfielder easily put it away to double the Cavalier advantage.
“I had the player in front of me in a one-on-one, and when I looked up I heard [Brian] calling my name,” Shaffer said. “I was able to slide the ball to her and she finished it pretty perfectly.”
Trailing 2-0, Wake Forest realized that it would have to alter its strategy to mount a comeback. The Demon Deacons opened up the field with their spacing and began to more aggressively pursue opportunities to counter. The Cavalier midfield swarmed every loose ball, however, and quickly regained possession each time it was lost.
Wake Forest’s more aggressive approach did create some scoring opportunities, but no matter how deep into the box the Demon Deacons ventured, they were unable to muster a shot on goal. In fact, Wake Forest did not register its first shot until there were less than 10 minutes remaining in the match.
“On paper, people won’t realize how difficult this match was, to face a team that has been in our conference, knows us, knows our field and is very organized,” Swanson said. “I think they’re a very difficult team to break down, it was not an easy match so this was one of our best performances of the year.”
After allowing just two total shots during a dominant weekend in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers will return to Klöckner Stadium Friday to face Michigan in the Elite Eight. The Wolverines blanked Notre Dame 1-0 Sunday and like Virginia, have not allowed a goal in their three tournament games.
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