When junior forward Emma Watchilla scored the game’s first goal, she was mobbed by teammates in a dogpile celebration. A bit strange for the game’s first goal, no?
Considering that Watchilla’s brace was the game’s one and only goal, the grand celebration makes sense.
For the entirety of regulation, No. 2 Virginia managed just one shot on goal. In a vacuum, one would think that lack of offense resulted in a loss, but Coach Ole Keusgen and company had other plans.
"Going into a top-10 game, it's never a perfect game or great game from start to finish so we talked about ups and downs mentally and how to handle them," Keusgen said.
The breakthrough came in Friday’s second overtime, after the Cavaliers (9-0, 5-0 ACC) had battled through 72 minutes and 51 seconds of an aggressive duel with the No. 9 Blue Devils (6-4, 2-2 ACC) at Turf Field. That battle eventually came to an end when Virginia’s offense caught its opportunity at just the right time.
Sophomore midfielder Ashley Stockdale was weaving through Virginia’s defense when junior midfielder Mia Abello suddenly stole the ball. She quickly flicked it to graduate midfielder Suze Leemans, who swung with all of her might. The ball was subsequently tipped by a Blue Devil defender, and it went flying into Duke territory — where only the last line of defense stood.
One-on-one, Watchilla made the keeper miss and strolled through the rest of the way for the game’s only goal.
Watchilla was the game’s hero — but her heroics would not have been possible without an incredible defensive effort. Virginia only allowed two shots on goal, both of which were saved by junior goalkeeper Nilou Lempers. Overall, Lempers tallied four saves on the evening. Together, Lempers and the Cavalier defense held Duke scoreless on eight corner shot opportunities, half of which came in the fourth quarter.
"This was a huge team win," Keusgen said.
The only issue was that Duke’s defense was equally dominant. Virginia could not manage to produce a single shot in the second, third or fourth quarters. The Cavaliers did not even register a second shot on goal until the first overtime.
"In regulation we never found our rhythm but in overtime we changed that," Keusgen said.
In that 10-minute period, Virginia managed to clobber together four shots on goal, and although none went through, peppering the Blue Devil defense was undoubtedly productive.
Pressuring Duke’s defense was a top priority, as these rivals have required overtime in four of their previous six matchups, all six of which had been decided by one goal. Goals were at a premium.
Offense was especially scarce considering that entering Friday’s matchup, the Blue Devils had been allowing just 0.89 goals per game, which was sixth-best among all Division I teams.
The Cavaliers, who average 5.5 corner opportunities per game, earned just three Friday, two of which came after the game’s first three quarters. But in the game’s waning minutes, it was not a set piece that won the day. It was capitalizing on an opponent’s mistake.
As Leemans’ deflected pass went flying into the night sky, Watchilla was in the right place at the right time. The play began with Abello’s forced turnover, then a Leemans pass that miraculously landed in Duke territory, then Watchilla punctuating a wild turn of events.
"Today was a huge team effort," Watchilla said. "We talked about it all week how it was going to be a grind. We talk about it all the time how we're going to ride the highs and learn on the lows and emphasizing staying together as a team. It's a team effort, we work for each other and we really needed to stick together and we did and got the win."
Now, Virginia is one of three remaining undefeated Division I teams. The Cavaliers have a week off, which, after playing a game that went into double overtime, is definitely valuable given that their next opponent is their archrival North Carolina.
The Tar Heels — ranked No. 1 in the NCAA RPI and No. 3 in the Coaches’ Poll — will travel to Charlottesville Friday for a 5 p.m. duel. While this rivalry is always high-stakes, there is new fuel to the fire, as senior midfielder Dani Mendez transferred from Virginia to join North Carolina this past offseason.
Those Tar Heels will encounter a Cavalier squad that sits alone atop the ACC standings, with a 6-0 record against ranked teams — and a defense that has allowed just five goals in nine games.
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