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No. 3 Women’s soccer notches two road wins, remains undefeated

In the Virginia women’s soccer team’s first road trip of the year, the No. 3 Cavaliers handily defeated Alabama and Samford, remaining undefeated and returning home with 5-0 record. The team has now tallied three goals or more in all five wins thus far, outscoring their opponents 18-1.

In Virginia’s first game of the trip, the team took the field on an extremely hot Friday night against the Crimson Tide (2-2-1), who were coming off a dominant 5-0 win last weekend against Austin Peay in Tennessee. Virginia sophomore midfielder Alexis Shaffer broke through for the game’s first goal in the 38th minute, though the Cavaliers peppered Alabama with 12 first-half shots.

After intermission, the Cavaliers poured it on. Junior defender Emily Sonnett put back a rebound off a corner kick in the 61st minute, doubling the Virginia advantage. Finally, in the 84th minute, senior midfielder Danielle Colaprico converted a penalty kick for her second point of the game and her first goal of the season, giving the Cavaliers a secure 3-0 win and clinching the team’s fourth consecutive shutout to begin the season.

In Virginia’s second Friday-Sunday doubleheader in as many weeks, Virginia visited Samford (3-3-0) in the first-ever matchup between the two teams to conclude its first road trip of the season.

Working balls up the flanks and penetrating from the wings, the Cavaliers fired shot after shot at Samford freshman goalie Anna Maddox before, in the 17th minute, junior forward Brittany Ratcliffe connected from the six-yard box for her fourth goal of the season to give Virginia an early 1-0 advantage.

Just before the break, when it seemed as if Samford might escape a shaky first half performance only giving up one goal on 11 shots, freshman forward Megan Reid found senior midfielder Morgan Brian in front of the net, who calmly slotted in her first goal of the season, giving the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead.

In the 52nd minute, Bulldog sophomore forward Malcanisha Kelley curled a ball into the far corner of the net past sophomore goalie Jessie Ferrari for the Cavaliers’ first goal against this season. Order was restored soon after, however, when standout freshman forward Victoria Lasko scored her second goal of the season off a cross from a free kick, courtesy of Colaprico.

The two wins put the Cavaliers in a solid position going forward as they head into the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic this weekend at Klöckner Stadium. The tournament kicks off Friday at 3 p.m., with the Cavaliers’ first game at 5:30 p.m. against Tennessee.

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