“On that day [against West Virginia], we weren’t good enough to win. If we get another chance at them, hopefully it’ll be our day,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson speculated. After defeating Army Friday 2-0, Virginia faced West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and put Swanson’s musing to the test.
The Cavaliers’ day dawned just as Swanson hoped in a 3-2 defeat of the Mountaineers. After this weekend’s two victories at Klöckner Stadium, the Cavaliers will advance to the Round of 16 to face Duke.
After being shut out 3-0 by West Virginia during the regular season — and taking just three shots on goal — Virginia avenged the defeat with efficiency, scoring three times off just nine shots.
“Obviously we made [our shots] count,” freshman forward Lauren Alwine said. “In a game like this ... you’re not going to get that many shots. We put them on frame and took advantage of opportunities.”
The last time the Mountaineers gave up three goals in a half was against Virginia in 2007. Yesterday, Virginia scored all three of its goals before halftime and played to keep that lead for the rest of the game. West Virginia made that task difficult, however, as the Mountaineers came out in an aggressive formation that allowed them to score right out of the gates in the second half.
“We told the team not to give anything away in the first five minutes [of the second half],” Swanson said. “And we promptly did just that.”
After that goal, the Cavaliers dropped out of their normal 4-3-3 into a more conservative 4-4-2 in an attempt to hold the Mountaineers’ offensive pressure at bay. West Virginia, however, managed to continue to attack the goal and score once again before the end of regulation.
“One of the turning points of the game was their first goal,” Swanson said. “They got it so quickly, and it kind of gave them hope that they could get back in this.”
In the first round of the tournament Friday, Virginia managed to shut down Army’s offense, holding it to only one shot the entire game while the Cavaliers rattled off 22 of their own.
“They just had great ball skills,” Black Knight forward Dymon Washington said about Virginia’s backline. “Other teams, if we pressured them a lot, it would have frazzled them, but they kept their composure.”
The game not only spelled the end of Black Knights’ season but also the end of Army coach Gene Ventriglia’s long and successful career. Ventriglia earned his sixth Patriot League “Coach of the Year” award and led his team to a Patriot League Championship.
“What a ride, what a journey for me that I’ve gone through the past 24 years, and to be exposed to youngsters like Dymon here is just enriching to me,” Ventriglia said.
With the two victories on the weekend, Virginia will host Duke this weekend at Klöckner with a chance to determine a winner of the 0-0 tie the teams played to at the end of October.
“It’s going to take a good team to beat Virginia,” Ventriglia said following his bout with the Cavaliers. “They just have it. They have speed, they have size, they have tactical ability; they’re going to go far.”
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