Virginia women’s soccer held on to a 1-1 draw after conceding an equalizer at No. 9 Clemson Thursday. The Cavaliers (5-2-5, 0-2-3 ACC) started the action with a goal from sophomore midfielder Jill Flammia, and the Tigers (9-1-3, 3-1-1 ACC) thereon out dominated possession and responded with a goal from junior forward Renee Lyles.
Clemson wasted no time to start their attacks. In the first seven minutes, the Tigers tallied four shots and commanded possession in the Cavaliers’ half. Three of these shots came from graduate student forward Samantha Meredith, who had already scored five goals this season.
Virginia found its first opportunity in the ninth minute when freshman midfielder Yuna McCormack played a cross from Clemson’s left side. McCormack’s ball trickled off of freshman forward Allie Ross to Flammia. With momentum toward the goal, Flammia fired a ball to the back of the net to give Virginia a 1-0 advantage.
Flammia’s goal was just the third goal for the Cavaliers in ACC play. From Clemson’s perspective, this goal may have been unexpected — the Tigers had only conceded seven goals on the season prior to Thursday night.
Clemson quickly commanded possession and found key opportunities in Virginia’s half. Freshman forward Tatum Short found herself two quality opportunities. In the 19th minute, she had a volley opportunity off of a cross but graduate student goalkeeper Cayla White scooped up the shot. Short split two defenders in the Virginia box and sent a shot high of the goal.
By the time Clemson found their equalizer, they had outshot Virginia 11-1. Meredith created the 11th shot, redirecting a ball from Virginia’s goal line to the penalty spot. Lyles found the pass and shot the ball past White to bring the score to 1-1.
Clemson outdid Virginia in the first half in shots 12-2 and shot on goal 6-2. After the Flammia goal, Clemson kept the ball out of their half and frustrated Virginia forwards.
In the 51st minute, sophomore forward and midfielder Maggie Cagle and sophomore forward Meredith McDermott worked in give-and-go fashion up the left side of the field. From there, Cagle tried to find Ross, but senior goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz got to the ball first.
Despite the opportunity, Clemson dominated possession in the second half the way they did in the first. In the 60th minute, graduate student midfielder Hal Hershfelt fired a shot outside of the box into White’s arms for her ninth save of the night. Minutes later, sophomore forward Emma Wennar took a shot just left of goal and a diving White.
Although Clemson maintained possession for most of the half, Virginia had the best goal opportunity. In the 82nd minute, Ross made a run into the Clemson box but found her shot blocked by Mackiewicz, who came out of goal. With Mackiewicz still on the ground, Cagle found the ball at her feet and quickly looked to score. The shot went high of the goal, and Cagle fell to her knees with her hands on her face. Time expired with the score holding at 1-1.
Virginia left the field with a point to add to their name in the ACC standings, but they are still winless in ACC play. Starting the season No. 5, the Cavaliers are now unranked and sit 11th in the ACC standings. While the offense was able to break out of a slump to score against an elite Clemson defensive unit, Virginia was unable to put together a complete effort to secure a win. With dreams of an ACC championship or even a national championship, Virginia must now worry about making the 64-team postseason tournament.
Virginia is on the road against another team winless in ACC play in North Carolina State Sunday.
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