No. 11 Virginia defeated No. 13 Liberty 2-1 on Friday afternoon in Lynchburg, Va. After falling to Ohio State five days earlier for its first loss of the season, the Cavaliers (3-1, 0-0, ACC) answered with another ranked victory over the Flames (3-2, 0-0, Big East) to improve their record to 3-1.
The game was close almost immediately — Liberty took four shots in the opening quarter over Virginia's two, but neither team was able to break through. Virginia's fourth-year goalkeeper Nilou Lempers made two saves in the first 15 minutes, keeping the Flames off the scoreboard as the Cavaliers’ offense searched for an opening — which they found in the second quarter.
Virginia earned its only penalty corner of the game in the 22nd minute, and fourth-year back Mia Abello took advantage of the moment to send a shot toward the right side of the cage, where the ball was deflected off one of Liberty's defenders before finding the backboard, creating the Cavaliers’ 1-0 lead.
That goal, Abello's second of the season and 20th of her career, marked Virginia's return to the efficiency it lacked last Sunday. The Cavaliers would only see one penalty corner all game, while the Flames earned five. This disparity meant that Virginia did not have many open opportunities, and yet it made its best one count, something Coach Ole Keusgen noticed.
“Today was a great bounce back win from last weekend,” Keusgen said. “Super proud of how we played today. Our level of effort and execution of details was good today.”
Although Liberty continued to outshoot the Cavaliers 5-4 through the first half, Virginia carried its 1-0 advantage into the break.
However, the momentum shifted when the Flames came out of the locker room after halftime looking for an equalizer, and 7:38 into the third quarter, they found one.
Liberty's senior forward Luna Prieri sent a cross toward the middle where freshman midfielder Clarisa Iudicello was ready to grab the ball and redirect it into the cage. The game was now tied at one, and Virginia's response needed to come quickly.
But as the third quarter progressed, neither team could find a breakthrough. They settled into a long stretch of back-and-forth play, until the Flames got a strong opportunity to seize their first lead when they earned their fourth penalty corner of the afternoon with 46 seconds remaining in the period — yet Liberty could not convert.
Instead, the Cavaliers turned the defensive stop into a counterattack, and first-year forward Caitlin Connell found herself with a breakaway opportunity — and ran with it. With 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Connell beat Liberty's sophomore goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin and put Virginia ahead 2-1.
That goal was not only the game's decisive moment, but the first of Connell's collegiate career. Now, going into the fourth quarter, all the Cavaliers had to do was protect their one-goal advantage.
That proved difficult as the Flames generated four shots in the final quarter, three of which were shots on goal. Liberty's junior forward Avery Pollock nearly found another equalizer when she fired twice within six seconds, but Lempers put a stop to both attempts.
And still, the Flames were pressing. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Liberty pulled Saint Martin from the cage to give the home team an extra field player and it searched for a second goal.
Virginia's final major threat came with 1:38 left, as junior forward Josefina Tomasi sent a strong shot towards the cage — until Lempers stopped it, finishing the game with five saves.
Although it was a strong win, the final statistics do not paint a picture of a game dominated by the Cavaliers — the Flames’ Saint Martin also made five saves. In addition, Liberty finished with a 10-8 upper hand in shots and had five of the game's six penalty corners.
On the other hand, Virginia put seven of its eight shots on goal compared with six of the Flames’ 10. In other words, the Cavaliers were not waiting around for Liberty to make mistakes — they were converting on every inch they could.
This game continued a pattern between the two programs, marking the 11th regular-season meeting between Virginia and the Flames, 10 of which have been decided by one goal.
Therefore, for the Cavaliers, Friday's victory was less about overwhelming their opponent than about proving the team could execute in the important moments — a quality Keusgen praised.
“We defended well as a team today and Caitlin Connell decided the game with an incredible run and goal,” Keusgen said.
Virginia will head back to Charlottesville for its home opener against James Madison Sunday at 1 p.m., before hitting the road to begin conference play at No. 9 Duke and No. 5 North Carolina.
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