Virginia women’s soccer dispelled any doubts about its promise Thursday night with a thunderous performance in a top-10 matchup against Penn State. The Cavaliers (5-0-1, 0-0-0 ACC) almost always had control of the contest, prevailing 1-0 against the Nittany Lions (3-2-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten). Virginia fired on all cylinders, and senior forward Maggie Cagle was sure of it.
“That was our best performance,” Cagle said. “Our best start to a game, and just overall, our best energy and focus, starting and ending a full 90-minute game.”
The Cavaliers looked unstoppable, constantly in charge of the pace of the game, switching the play early and often and fighting hard to win the ball back off turnovers. All phases of the game were securely under Virginia control, and despite a 45-minute weather delay, it did not take long for that fact to show.
Just over a minute after the match began, the Cavaliers were on the attack. Graduate defender Laney Rouse’s shot from outside the box careened off a defender and was recycled out to the left flank for freshman forward Carrie Helfrich, who delivered an excellent cross into the box. Helfrich’s cross was helped along by freshman midfielder Addison Halpern and fell to Cagle, who took an adept touch and smashed her shot into the bottom left corner. Cagle left no room for questions.
“Shoot it,” Cagle said. “Rip it as hard as I can.”
Klöckner Stadium erupted. Virginia had come to play, and everyone there could see that.
The Cavaliers pressed on, making Penn State uncomfortable on the ball and forcing it into errant passes and touches. Graduate midfielder Lia Godfrey almost increased the Virginia lead soon after Cagle’s strike, blazing two different shots just off-target from nice positions outside the box, both after Cavalier takeaways.
When Virginia was out of possession, it did not let up, especially Rouse, who seemed to be everywhere at once in the contest, jumping in front of passes, slide tackling midfielders from behind and clearing the ball when needed. In front of the net, junior goalkeeper Victoria Safradin was steady, even making a highlight save on the one occasion that the Nittany Lions were able to break through. Coach Steve Swanson was impressed with his defensive unit.
“I think anybody would have taken [conceding] one goal in six games now against the competition that we played,” Swanson said. “I thought they did a good job tonight as well.”
In addition to great defensive work, the Cavalier back line sparked the attack, playing line-breaking passes to Halpern and Godfrey when Penn State attempted to start their press.
Once Virginia’s midfield received a pass, it seemed that it had free rein. Godfrey’s physicality, Halpern’s creativity and junior midfielder Ella Carter’s quick feet had the Nittany Lions chasing shadows.
When the whistle for halftime blew, the Cavaliers were certainly unlucky to only have a one-goal lead based on their level of dominance.
The second half was more of the same, with Cagle and Halpern being denied from close range to keep the scoreline unchanged. Every time Penn State attempted to clear its lines, the physicality and aggressiveness of the Cavaliers made regaining possession a quick endeavor.
As the clock wound down, the Nittany Lions sent some last ditch crosses at Virginia’s box, which were defended well. When the buzzer sounded, the Cavaliers’ only complaint could have been that they were not perfectly clinical.
“Unfortunately, that's probably the biggest thing that we kind of have to get better at,” Swanson said. “Is to just finish our chances better.”
Despite the scoreline suggesting a close game, that was far from the truth — Virginia put its skills on full display. The Cavaliers appeared to be serious national contenders and appear ready to make a splash in the ACC, the toughest conference in college soccer.
The stakes will be high when Virginia returns Thursday at 7 p.m. to Klöckner, hosting No. 3 Duke in what will be both teams’ first conference matchup.
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