No. 7 Cavaliers Down Liberty 4-0 in Season Opener
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 7 Virginia women’s soccer team opened the 2010 season with a 4-0 win over intra-state foe Liberty Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers scored a pair of goals in both halves to improve to 1-0-0 on the young season.
“We did some nice things and scored some great goals tonight,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “We were able to take control of the game early and I think our depth really showed tonight. We got a lot of great performances from a lot of players tonight.”
The Cavaliers pressured the Flames from the start, but several key saves by Liberty keeper Ashley Nyholt kept the game scoreless midway through the first half. Virginia opened the scoring in the 27th minute. Lauren Alwine (Elizabethtown, Pa.) played a ball into the box for Meghan Lenczyk (McLean, Va.). Lenczyk’s point-blank shot was saved by Nyholt, but the rebound came right back to Lenczyk, who tallied UVa’s first goal of the season. The Cavaliers doubled their advantage in the 40th minute. Amber Fry’s (Northfield, Ill.) cross was deflected by Kate Norbo (Roanoke, Va.) right to first-year Gloria Douglas (Fayetteville, N.C.), who blasted a shot inside the far post for a goal in her collegiate debut.
Early in the second half, the Cavaliers added two more tallies. Three minutes after halftime, a cross from Alwine was one-timed in by Lenczyk for her second goal of the game. Five minutes later the same duo struck again, as a long cross by Lenczyk was headed in by Alwine to make the score 4-0.
Overall, Virginia outshot Liberty 16-1 and had an 8-4 corner kick advantage. Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) didn’t need to make a save to record her 24th career shutout. Nyholt made seven saves in net for the Flames.
“It was a good result and we improved on a lot of things from last week’s exhibitions,” said Swanson. “We were able to keep the pressure on a team that is probably the best Liberty team we have played in all the years of this series.”
The Cavaliers return to action on Sunday when they host Colgate. Game time at Klöckner Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
No. 7 Virginia 4, Liberty 0
Liberty 0 0 – 0
#7 Virginia 2 2 – 4
Scoring Summary:
UVa. Meghan Lenczyk 1 (unassisted) 27′
UVa. Gloria Douglas 1 (Kate Norbo 1, Amber Fry 1) 40′
UVa. Meghan Lenczyk 2 (Lauren Alwine 1) 48′
UVa. Lauren Alwine 1 (Meghan Lenczyk 1) 53′
Shots: UVa 16, LU 1
Corners: UVa 8, LU 4
Saves: UVa 0 (Jones 0), LU 7 (Nyholt 7)
Fouls: UVa 2, LU 2
Offsides: UVa 3, LU 2
Attendance: 1117