In last night's unseasonably cool Charlottesville weather, the Virginia women's soccer team defeated Alabama-Birmingham 1-0 in the make-up of Monday's lightning-postponed game.
Cavalier center midfielder Lori Lindsey scored the game's only goal 16 minutes into the match with help from a picture perfect long ball played to her by sophomore defender Brooke Stastny.
The No. 18 Cavs (2-1) dominated possession of the ball all night, with speedy wing players like junior Ashley Meeker and sophomore Alyssa Benitez dribbling up and down the flanks of the field at will.
Attempting to quiet the Virginia flank attacks, the Blazers (1-2-1) overcompensated, leaving the center of the field open for Lindsey's well-timed run up the middle and the subsequent long, looping pass from Stastny on the left side. As UAB goalkeeper Jen Braly came off her line to intercept the pass, Lindsey tapped the ball past her and knocked it into the wide open net.
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"I saw a gap and Brooke had the ball, so I made the run," Lindsey said. "Brooke sent a great ball through, and the goalkeeper came out calling for it, but I was able to get a foot on it before she was."
The victory left something to be desired, though, as the Cavaliers controlled the game but allowed the outmatched Blazers to stay in contention until the final whistle. While the Cavs moved the ball easily up the wings of the field, they could not translate that dominance into goals.
After the game, Virginia coach Steve Swanson focused on his team's inability to punch in an insurance goal.
"At times we needed to be a lot more purposeful with what we did," Swanson said. "At other times we needed to be a lot more patient. [On the flanks] we either made poor decisions ... or we didn't execute in terms of getting a good cross in."
One of the reasons Virginia had trouble getting into position to finish was the fact that UAB sagged back on defense in an effort to outnumber the Cavaliers in their defensive zone.
Alabama-Birmingham coach Paul Harbin claimed that the Blazers' conservative play was not his initial strategy, but was rather forced on them by Virginia's dominance.
"They're a much better team than we are," Harbin said. "We didn't really try to pack it in. We wanted to get forward, but individually, we don't match up well enough with them to do that.
"I think this is a potential Final Four team if they all come together. I'd be scared of this team a little bit down the road"
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