With an entire week of rest in between games, the Cavaliers talked at practice earlier this week about how much they wanted back on the field. Yesterday afternoon, No. 4 Virginia (15-2-1) backed up its talk.
The Cavaliers tied the ACC tournament record for margin of victory with an 8-0 shutout win over Virginia Tech (11-8-0) in the quarterfinals.
Virginia came out attacking quickly, earning four corner kicks in the first six minutes of the game. The early aggressiveness paid off in the eighth minute when junior forward Kristen Weiss broke free just outside the right side of the box. With one defender to beat, Weiss faked left then broke right, giving herself that one step necessary to strike the ball. Her shot ricocheted off of Virginia Tech goalkeeper Mallory Soldner, landing directly on the head of Virginia midfielder Kelly Hammond who gave the Cavaliers a lead they would not relinquish.
"Going into the game, we knew we would like to get a goal early just to set the tempo for the rest of the tournament," Virginia midfielder Sarah Huffman said. "It definitely allowed us to settle in and be more confident."
The barrage of shots continued throughout the remainder of the first half. In the 13th minute, Weiss notched her second assist of the day with a through ball to Virginia's leading goal-scorer Lindsay Gusick, who blasted a low shot past Soldner to give the Cavaliers a two-goal edge.
Having already doubled her career total of assists in the first half, Weiss increased her career goal total to five when she sped past a Virginia Tech defender, reached a through ball from Gusick and tallied yet another score for the Cavaliers. Before the half ended, Hammond scored her eighth goal of the season giving the Cavaliers a 4-0 lead at the half.
Up by four to begin the second period of play, the Cavaliers switched gears and began playing a more conservative style, more concerned about controlling the pace of the game and resting starters than increasing their goal total.
"We don't have many substitutes right now," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "You can't play three games in this amount of time and not use all of your players. And I think the kids that hadn't played much for us did a great job."
A scary moment for both teams occurred in the 61st minute when Virginia Tech freshman and leading-scorer Ashley Stinson collided with Huffman in the midfield. Huffman was recently named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and has been instrumental to Virginia's success throughout the season. Huffman walked off the field under her own power while Stinson was carried off by the trainers.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable deficit, Virginia Tech continued to battle throughout the game notching a total of three shots. But in the end, the Cavaliers backed up their impressive regular season record with a convincing victory over a team they were supposed to beat. Friday's opponent will most likely pose a greater threat for Virginia as it faces a Clemson team that was ranked as high as No. 4 in the country.
Weiss' two goals and three assists tied an ACC Tournament record for points in a single game. Her stellar play will definitely be needed as the march towards the championship and a possible rematch with No. 2 North Carolina continues with tomorrow's semifinal against the Tigers at 5 p.m.
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