Out West, the Virginia women’s soccer team topped UCLA and tied No. 14 Pepperdine last weekend.
The Cavaliers trailed 1-0 Friday against the Bruins at the half but ultimately won 2-1 behind goals from juniors Alexis Shaffer and Meghan Cox. Sunday versus the Waves, Virginia (4-0-1) relied on freshman winger Courtney Petersen’s free kick in the 84th minute to equalize.
Most teams would be content to come away with a draw in that case, but a tally in the third column will never satisfy the Cavaliers.
“We learned a lot from the two results,” Cox said. “We played a great game on Friday. Then Sunday we played well too, but didn’t get the result we wanted. Going into the later part of the season we have to learn to play every game at a high level and find a way to win.”
The No. 1 Cavaliers can’t expect Harvard (1-2-1) or Old Dominion (1-4-0) to roll over this weekend, as both unranked opponents have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Virginia should not assume sputtering Crimson offensive production — only three goals in four games — translates to a 90-minute walk in the park. Nor should it smirk at the fact that it beat UNCW 8-0 Aug. 23, while Old Dominion lost 1-2 to the Seahawks four days later. The Cavaliers don’t think about these past results or present rankings. In the frank words of Cox, “We take it one game at a time.”
But here are several points drawn from facts that Virginia should consider before taking the pitch.
Harvard’s attack, which currently ranks 274th in goals per game, will get a boost when junior forward Margaret Purce — a member of the U-23 U.S. National Team and the NSCAA All-Mid Atlantic Team in 2014 — gets out of her finishing funk.
Purce, who scored a total of 21 goals as a freshman and sophomore, has only one goal in 20 shots this season. Virginia coach Steve Swanson and his team know her ability isn’t lost forever. Purce’s breakout game lurks somewhere in the future, and the Cavaliers will need to make sure it’s not against them.
Considering how unimpressive the Crimson offense has been so far, the defense — which ranks 95th in goals against average at .95 — has done a remarkable job of keeping the team in games; losses against Boston College and No. 25 UConn came by a single goal. Senior defender Alika Keene, junior defender Bailey Gary and junior goalkeeper Lizzie Durack are key cogs in this machine that Virginia forwards will try to disassemble Friday.
Old Dominion fell 5-0 to the Cavaliers in Charlottesville last season. Virginia dominated possession and pelted 29 shots at, above and around the Monarch goal. But this result doesn’t mean a whole lot in 2015. Now, Old Dominion has freshman forward Iris Achterhof, a Dutch dynamo who’s netted three goals already.
Sure, there’s the bad loss to Wilmington, but there’s also the good loss — well, promising — to No. 11 Auburn, by a 1-0 final score on the road. There’s also the fact that while the Monarchs haven’t scored in 196 minutes, the Cavaliers can’t let Old Dominion stay down 1-0 or even 2-0 in the second half. Virginia has to convert on at least three if not four of its chances to close the door, and that’s without senior forward Makenzy Doniak.
Doniak is still recovering from the left-hamstring injury she suffered Aug. 28 against Cal Poly. She recorded only 16 minutes in reserve versus Pepperdine, which was perhaps a preventive move by Swanson, who trusts his other players to fill the vacancy and perform well.
Sophomore forward Veronica Latsko, who scored the first goal Sunday, and Peterson, who scored the second, have certainly done so. Meanwhile, captain and senior defender Emily Sonnett remains another guiding force as Doniak recuperates.
“Emily is always leading, always discussing,” junior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns said. “But it’s not just one person. It’s also that entire staff of forwards that have kind of stepped up and taken that role. They’ve done a great job [since Mak has been out].”
Virginia hasn’t lost at Klöckner in 35 games. The team has an opportunity to extend the streak to 40 during a five-game home stand, which begins this weekend. Harvard and Old Dominion will each try to impose its will and hand the Cavaliers their first loss. Virginia will look to put on shows in front of its loyal home crowd.
“It’s great to finally be home and back on Klöckner in front of a big group of fans that are cheering our name, not rooting against us so much,” Stearns said. “That’s awesome.”
Kickoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday against Harvard and 2 p.m. Sunday against Old Dominion.
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