Cavalier Women's Soccer Downs Wake Forest 2-1
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 8 Virginia women’s soccer team reached the 10-win mark for the 24th consecutive season as it topped Wake Forest 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. Despite playing with 10 players for over 77 minutes, the Cavaliers recorded the victory to improve to 10-3-1 (4-2-0 ACC). The Demon Deacons fell to 10-5-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the ACC.
“We were presented with some challenges and I thought we responded well,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “To be down a player for over 70 minutes is always a challenge, but I thought we created a lot of chances despite playing with 10 (players). I felt bad for the fans who kind of got cheated on seeing this game played at full strength. We had to focus to keep to our shape and keep possession for the remainder of the game and did a good job of that. Overall, to come out with a win under these circumstances, I am pleased.”
The Cavaliers jumped out to the early lead in the 11th minute of play. Meghan Lenczyk (McLean, Va.) headed in a cross from Emily Carrollo (Sussex, N.J.) for her 12th goal of the season. Two minutes later the game changed when Maggie Kistner (St. Louis, Mo.) received a red card for a handball. Despite playing down a player, the Cavaliers continued to attack and doubled their lead in the 36th minute. Kate Norbo (Roanoke, Va.) found Gloria Douglas (Fayetteville, N.C.) in the box, who turned and fired in her third goal of the season. Wake Forest cut the lead in half in the 42nd minute as Katie Stengel scored on a penalty kick for her league-leading 13th goal of the season.
The second half was scoreless as the Cavaliers preserved their one-goal advantage. Despite playing with 10 players, Virginia outshot Wake Forest 5-2 in the second half and forced Wake goalkeeper Audrey Bledsoe to make four saves.
“I was pleased with how well we moved the ball and how we made smart decisions to play effectively while down a player,” said Swanson. “It gave us a little bit of confidence that we were already up a goal when it happened. We did a great job of keeping organized and they really didn’t get many scoring chances that whole time.”
Overall, Virginia had a 12-7 edge in shots, while Wake had a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. Danielle DeLisle (Baltimore, Md.), who made her first career start, and Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) each made one save in goal for the Cavaliers. Bledose made six saves at the other end for the Demon Deacons.
The Cavaliers will visit No. 7 Florida State on Thursday. Game time in Tallahassee is 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live by SunSports.
No. 8 Virginia 2, Wake Forest 1
Wake Forest (10-5-1, 4-2-1) 1 0 – 1
#8 Virginia (10-3-1, 4-2-0) 2 0 – 2
Scoring Summary:
UVa. Meghan Lenczyk 12 (Emily Carrollo 1, Sinead Farrelly 6) 11′
UVa. Gloria Douglas 3 (Kate Norbo 3) 36′
WF. Katie Stengel 13 (penalty kick) 42′
Shots: UVa 12, Wake 7
Corners: UVa 4, Wake 5
Saves: UVa 2 (DeLisle 1, Jones 1), Wake 7 (Bledsoe 6, Team 1)
Fouls: UVa 6, Wake 9
Offsides: UVa 2, Wake 5
Attendance: 1422