Two days after U.S. Women’s Soccer coach Jill Ellis announced Virginia senior defender Emily Sonnett would join the roster in advance of an Oct. 25 friendly against Brazil, the senior captain led the Cavaliers to a 4-2 victory at Boston College (9-6-1, 3-3-1 ACC).
No. 2 Virginia improved to 11-1-1 overall and 5-1-0 in the ACC behind early and late offensive outbursts.
Senior forward Makenzy Doniak and junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer gave the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead less than seven minutes into the match. Doniak — who sat out for almost three weeks with a left hamstring strain — returned to action and made an immediate impact.
Doniak slipped a shot into the corner of the net at 58 seconds. An ignited Virginia continued to surge forward, while Boston College struggled to relieve the pressure with possession. The Cavaliers struck again at 6:51, when Shaffer netted her 7th goal of the season. Doniak assisted on this tally, giving her a share of the school’s record for career points.
Entering Sunday’s match, Virginia hadn’t scored two first-half goals since a 3-0 rout of Old Dominion on Sept. 13. So seeing his Cavalier group again jump out to a 2-0 lead in Boston was likely reassuring for Coach Steve Swanson. But all the comfort vanished at 20:47.
Junior forward Hayley Dowd — who earned All-ACC and NSCAA All-Southeast Regional second team honors in 2014 — broke through and poked the ball past Virginia junior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns to cut the deficit in half.
For most of the second half — as tiny ice crystals fell onto Newton Campus Field — each team battled for that next momentum-snatching goal. It came in the 80th minute from none other than senior forward Brittany Ratcliffe, who has produced big-time goals throughout her Cavalier career.
In the final minutes, the two teams exchanged insignificant scores. Star junior forward McKenzie Meehan — who has tallied 12 goals for Boston College in 2015 — followed up Virginia junior forward Veronica Lastko’s with one of her own to close scoring.
The Cavaliers are back in action Thursday when Louisville comes to Charlottesville.
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