Virginia had no problem taking the Towson Tigers by the tail at U-Hall Turf Field yesterday, handing them a 9-0 defeat. The Cavs were successful in staying undefeated and seemed to put the ball in the back of the net at will.
Defense was the key in this matchup. Towson (1-3) was only able to manage five shots for the entire game on goal, and when they did, third-year goalkeeper Becky Worthington was there to stonewall anything in her direction. "Becky has been superb. We're 4-0 and she is a big part of that," Cav coach Jessica Wilk said. "She is a calming presence back there for a young defense."
Worthington and the Cav defense were stingy, never giving the Tigers any real hope of even advancing the ball up the field.
The defense was equally effective at extinguishing Towson's scoring opportunities as a result of penalty corners.
"We set a goal before the game of only allowing five shots in the game, so we are really happy we were able to do that," second-year midfielder Jessica Coleman said.
This 9-0 victory marks the third time in a row that the Cavaliers (4-0) have shut out the Tigers and extends the all time series record to 10-0.
On the other end of the field, the offense controlled possession and tested the Towson defense all afternoon.
"I think we did a great job passing the ball on offense -- the give and go and everything we have been practicing, we did today," Coleman said.
The scoring onslaught began three minutes and 15 seconds into the game with Coleman knocking home a shot off a rebound that was not cleared by the Towson defense. Third-year forward Lorraine Vizzuso got in on the action in the 17th minute of the game, and was a driving force for the offense, putting in two goals and recording an assist.
Virginia went into the half with a 4-0 lead, and the second half was more of the same Cavalier dominance on both ends of the field. Vizzuso opened the second half by scoring four minutes and 20 seconds in, taking a beautiful crossing pass from fourth-year forward Meredith Elwell to extend the lead 5-0.
The offensive attack was very democratic, with six different Cavaliers tallying marks on the scoreboard. Second-year forward/midfielder Carrie Goodlow recorded a goal and was in the giving mood, handing out two assists. Also of note was the offensive performance of first-years Kelli Hill and Rosie Walker who both put shots in the back of the net.
"It was great because everyone played well, and we were able to get in some of the first-year players and give them some playing time," Worthington said.
Virginia out-shot Towson 36-5, while doubling the Tigers penalty opportunities with eight.
"We did a really nice job of moving the ball around and picking up the pace when we were attacking on the offensive end," Wilk said.
The young Cav squad picks up a little more confidence heading into this week's play, facing Richmond Wednesday, but especially eyeing a matchup Sunday against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
"Winning 9-0 gives some confidence, but more importantly we picked up our level of play from our previous game," Wilk said. "We need to be more disciplined, but we are getting there, and we are improving"
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