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Women's Soccer edges Maryland, remains unbeaten

No. 1 Virginia beats Terrapins 1-0; sophomore forward Brittany Ratcliffe tallies winning goal

The Virginia women’s soccer team has played its fair share of high-stakes games so far this season, but Sunday may have brought added pressure. Returning to Charlottesville for the first time since reaching the No. 1 national ranking, the Cavaliers entered their game against No. 22 Maryland with the challenge of living up to the hype in front of their home fans.

Accustomed to high-scoring affairs, the Cavaliers (11-0-0, 5-0-0 ACC) were held to just one goal against the Terrapins (6-5-0, 2-3-0 ACC), but their defense proved impenetrable as they held on for a 1-0 win, extending their season-opening winning streak to 11 games.

“We know with this No. 1 ranking that we have this target on our backs, so we know everyone is going to give us their best effort,” senior defender Morgan Stith said. “Coming out today and getting that goal, even if it was one goal or five goals, just getting that win was good for us today.”

Virginia was on the attack from the get-go, but the Maryland defense proved difficult to crack. The Cavaliers had 10 shots in the first half to the Terrapins’ five, but they struggled to keep the ball on target, forcing Maryland sophomore goalkeeper Rachelle Beanlands to make just three saves.

“We just weren’t as sharp as we normally have been in and around the attacking third,” coach Steve Swanson said. “I thought it could be a little bit of fatigue. Maryland has some good athletes back there, so they defended very hard. Our quality of service into the box wasn’t great.”

Maryland went on the counter attack a few times as senior forward Hayley Brock got two shots off late in the first half, but Cavalier freshman keeper Morgan Stearns kept the Terrapins off the board by recording three saves. In each of the Cavaliers’ last three games, they had been forced to rally from deficits – including a thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Duke Thursday – so the players were very conscious of preventing an early goal.

“We really got to stop going down a few goals,” sophomore forward Brittany Ratcliffe said. “It’s really scary. It was good to actually be leading for once.”

The game seemed destined to go into halftime scoreless after senior forward Amber Fry’s shot was stopped by Beanlands with under two minutes remaining, but the Cavaliers finally mounted a successful attack. Junior midfielder Morgan Brian found Ratcliffe, who took the pass and beat two defenders as she cut across the box.

Falling over, Ratcliffe let loose on a left-footed shot from 12 yards out and found the back of the net. The score came with just 17 seconds left in the half and gave Virginia a jolt heading into the break.

“Great run by Brittany — I thought she made all the right decisions on the play,” Swanson said. “I thought she looked very unpredictable, and she looked [freshman forward] Morgan Reuther off and cut in. Then she looked like she was going to shoot and then she cut again, and then she shot it. Great goal.”

The score sent the Cavaliers into the break with momentum, and they carried it throughout the second half, holding Maryland at bay and off the scoreboard. The Terrapins had just four shots after the break and none forced Stearns to make a save. With the defense firing on all cylinders, Maryland was unable to find an equalizer.

“It was a little bit difficult for us to figure out their game plan in the first half,” Stith said. “But I think once we came into halftime and figured out what was going on, we were able to get the ball wide and get the ball forward. I think we executed our game plan well.”

Virginia had not played at Klöckner Stadium in 17 days, and the team’s return brought a huge crowd. The official attendance of 2,540 shattered the team’s previous record of 2,011.

“This is a great soccer community, I’ve said that again and again and again,” Swanson said. “I’m glad that they’re having a bond with the team. I’ve had a bond with the team with years, but it’s nice to see others get a bond with the team, because I think they’re a special group.”

Ratcliffe said that she has noticed a marked difference in attendance between home and road games.

“When we go away to games, there aren’t a lot of fans there,” Ratcliffe said. “We come here and play at Klöckner and we have like the whole city here.”

The Cavaliers will have a week off before continuing their three-game homestand with a matchup against Clemson next Sunday.

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