Gillian Hatch took one look at the West Virginia defense and knew exactly what she had to do.
Lined up for a free kick 20 yards from the goal with just under four minutes left in a scoreless season opener, the junior defender decided to ditch the designed play the coaches had called.
"They got a whole lot of numbers behind the ball," Hatch said. "There just wasn't room or space for us to play what we were going to do."
Instead, she took a shot right on goal that deflected off the Mountaineer wall, past the outstretched hands of goalie Lana Bannerman and into the back of the net for the winning score in the No. 11 Cavaliers' 1-0 triumph over No. 18 West Virginia in Saturday afternoon's game at Klöckner Stadium.
The contest was a rematch from the second round of the 2002 NCAA tournament, where Virginia took down the Mountaineers by the same score on a cold and rainy November day.
Although the conditions were certainly warmer and dryer this time around, the lack of offensive fireworks remained the same. Both teams fired a combined three shots on goal the entire first half.
The Cavaliers were able to find more success in the second half, controlling the ball better and opening up more scoring opportunities, than they were able to earlier in the game.
"We all had to come together and we settled it down a little bit," senior defender Missy Somadelis said. "In the first half we were going, going, going, and we were trying to shove it into the forwards when that wasn't always on. In the second half we were able to move it out wide more."
The game still remained scoreless until Mountaineer defender Ashley Weimer's foul with 3:11 remaining set up Hatch's game-winning free kick. The goal was the first of Hatch's career.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cavaliers performed consistently well the entire afternoon. Virginia held the Mountaineers to only four shots on goal, and senior goalkeeper Anne Abernethy opened up the season with a shutout,
"I thought Anne Abernathy was very good, very strong in goal," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "She showed a lot of leadership."
Abernethy's toughest test of the day came with 23 and a half minutes left in the game. West Virginia forward Chrissie Abbott broke through the Virginia defense, leaving only Abernethy between her and the goal.
The Virginia keeper charged right at Abbott and slide tackled her only five feet from the goal, knocking the ball away.
"I was just trying to do whatever I could to keep the ball out of the net, since that's my job," Abernethy said of the play. "I was just doing my job for the team like everyone else was doing."
Abernethy recorded a shutout in last season's opener as well, but it came against a weak St. Joseph's squad that the Cavaliers manhandled 7-0. This year Virginia faced a difficult team right off the bat.
"We want to get tested early," Swanson said. "That's the only way you find out more about your team. I think we found out a lot about our kids and I think they learned a lot. So, I think from that standpoint it was good. The fact that we won obviously was a bonus."
The competition does not get much easier for the Cavaliers, who play one of the toughest schedules in the country. They face six more teams currently in the top-25, including No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 Santa Clara.
Tonight, the Cavaliers will take on 2002 NCAA tournament qualifier William and Mary on only one day's rest. Face off at Klöckner Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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