DURHAM, N.C. --With the score tied at halftime and the teams appearing to be evenly matched, it was clear something fundamental had changed for the No. 11 Virginia women's soccer team, which beat No. 7 Duke yesterday, 1-0.
Duke had been in possession most of the game and had four shots to Virginia's two but still had failed to score. The Cavaliers were exhibiting an almost watertight defense that was able to move the ball to the sides when Duke threatened. The few times the ball did get through, Virginia goalie Christina de Vries was there, executing a perfect leap out of goal to grab the ball from the air on multiple occasions. With solid defense and the ability to capitalize on opportunities despite being outshot, Virginia suddenly began to look more like its opponents from the beginning of the season.
At the start of the second half, the Cavaliers took a move that had been their downfall in more than one game and turned it to their advantage. Jess Rostedt took a pass from Nikki Krysik and Noelle Kesselica and shot it squarely into the goal. After the score, Duke seemed to lose its spirit, and Virginia was able to take more shots.
"This was just a game we really needed," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "To come down here and beat them at their place is great. All credit goes to the team. I think they showed a lot of character and a lot of heart."
Yesterday's win against Duke comes on top of a victory against Wake Forest last Thursday, which Virginia also played away. The Cavaliers had not beaten Wake Forest in two years, and last year, the loss to Wake Forest resulted in the end of Virginia's nine-game winning streak. The win against Duke also carries special significance, as Duke was the team that defeated Virginia last year, ending the Cavaliers' run in the NCAA Tournament.
"We definitely have huge rivalries with Wake and Duke," junior Shannon Foley said. "Last year we beat [Duke] at home and then they beat us at home to knock us out of the tournament, and we haven't beaten Wake in two years. To come down here and beat them at their place is really sweet."
However the two victories signify more than that. Last Thursday's game against Wake Forest was the first time Virginia has been outshot and still won since 2002. The game against Wake Forest was also the Cavaliers' first game against a top-10 team since they squared off against then-No. 6 Penn State. Virginia fell to the Nittany Lions, 5-2.
As much as these victories mean to the Cavaliers though, no team can afford to get over-confident.
"We managed to get two really good results against two very good teams, both teams in the top ten," Swanson said. "Tomorrow we have to get ready for Florida State. I told the team going into this stretch, we've got to be real patient and not get too excited if we're doing well and not get too down if we're not. We're a good team, and we're just going to go through the season, and hopefully at the end we'll be peaking at the right time"
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