Showing no signs of flatness following its emotional senior day Sunday, the again-No. 1 Virginia women’s soccer team dismantled NC State (4-14, 0-9-0 ACC), 7-1, this evening.
Senior forward Makenzy Doniak was in the zone. She netted four goals in the first half, including a tap-in at 41 seconds, a far-post finish at 7:35, a near-post header at 32:16 and a lovely volley at 40:33. Doniak hunted for another type of score before coach Steve Swanson subbed her out in the 56th minute.
Senior defender Emily Sonnett and junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer trotted off the field with Doniak to make for a neat moment. The three have been so integral to Cavalier success in 2015. Sonnett — who rejoined Virginia after registering her first cap with the U.S. Women’s National Team on Sunday — shut down the Wolfpack over her limited time.
The only goal for the Wolfpack came two minutes and 10 seconds after Sonnett exited the game. With the outside of her cleat, freshman midfielder Taylor Porter bent the ball into the far-post corner from 25-yards out. Junior goalkeeper Jessie Ferrari, who had replaced starter junior Morgan Stearns at halftime, could not keep the shot out.
Ever-competitive Virginia still did not like to lose its clean sheet, even up 4-1. Probably not too pleased, Sonnett communicated to the Cavalier back line that somebody should have stepped up and prevented Porter from uncoiling the strike. The Virginia defense responded by holding the Wolfpack to a single shot and zero goals the rest of the way.
In turn, the Cavalier attack extended the 4-1 lead to 7-1. Junior forward Morgan Reuther tallied her seventh goal of the season at 62:03, a quick-strike off a NC State turnover and pass from sophomore forward Veronica Latsko. During the remaining twenty minutes, a pair of Cavalier youngsters tallied their first career goals.
Redshirt freshman defender Annaugh Madsen slipped a low shot into the back of the net at 73:22. Around ten minutes later, freshman midfielder Christiana Sullivan — who tallied her first career assist after Madsen’s finish — backheeled the ball over the goal line from close range. Her ecstatic Virginia teammates made the moment a special one for Sullivan, just as they had for Madsen.
Soon the clock struck zero, and the Wolfpack likely wished it could have faced the Cavaliers back on that stormy day in early October. Virginia was in a bit of a scoring funk then, still finding its way after a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame and a sloppy 1-0 win over Duke.
But now, coach Swanson has the Cavaliers rolling at the right time. One final regular-season match at Pittsburgh (10-6-1, 4-5-0 ACC) Saturday night stands between Virginia and what looks to be another deep run in the postseason. The Cavaliers have hardware on their minds.
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