Women's Soccer Blanks Texas 3-0 in Road Opener
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Aug. 31, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 7 Virginia women’s soccer team posted its fourth straight shutout victory, downing Texas 3-0 Friday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The Cavaliers got goals from Molly Menchel (Alexandria, Va.), Makenzy Doniak (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Caroline Miller (Rockville, Md.) as they won their road opener for the first time since the 2008 season.
Virginia improved to 4-1 with the win while Texas fell to 2-3 on the season.
“This was a very big result for us,” said assistant coach Ron Raab. “To come on the road and get a good win like this, a 3-0 win against a quality team like Texas, is great and should give our team a lot of confidence. It is nice to have players step up and finish some very nice goals. That really made a difference for us in this game.”
Virginia took the lead in the 20th minute of play off their first corner kick of the game. The Longhorns’ clearance of the corner went right to Kate Norbo (Roanoke, Va.), who played a ball back to Molly Menchel (Alexandria, Va.) at the top of the box. Menchel one-timed that pass into back of the net for her first goal of the season. The Cavaliers nearly scored again late in the half, but Emily Sonnett’s (Marietta, Ga.) breakaway shot hit the post and Virginia took the 1-0 lead into the break.
“Being a left back, I don’t get too many chances to shoot,” said Menchel. “Practicing long balls and serving balls in gives me an opportunity to work on striking the ball, but I don’t practice shooting too much. It is always nice to get a chance in front of goal and be able to take advantage of it with a good shot.”
The Cavaliers doubled the lead in the 68th minute as Doniak notched her sixth goal of the season. The freshman tried to play a through-ball in behind the defense, but it deflected back into the path of her run and she blasted a shot just inside the far post. Doniak’s strike continues her goal-scoring streak to five games, the longest for a Cavalier since Lindsay Gusick’s six-game streak in 2004.
Miller extended the lead to 3-0 just five minutes later. She received a pass from Brittany Ratcliffe (Williamstown, N.J.) and cutback past a defender before placing a shot inside the near post for her second goal of the season.
Virginia outshot Texas 19-11 in the contest and had a 9-0 corner kick edge. Churchill O’Connell (McLean, Va) made four saves in the second half after Danielle DeLisle (Baltimore, Md.) made one save in the first half as the duo posted their fourth consecutive combined shutout. Ava Vogel made eight saves in goal for the Longhorns.
The Cavaliers conclude their trip to Austin on Sunday as they meet SMU on the final day of the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational. Game time at Mike A. Myers Stadium is 11 a.m. CT (noon ET). SMU lost to New Mexico 4-1 in Friday’s first game of the tournament.
#7 Virginia 3, Texas 0
#7 Virginia (4-1) 1 2 – 3
Texas (2-3) 0 0 – 0
Scoring Summary
1. UVa. Molly Menchel 1 (Kate Norbo 1) 20′
2. UVa. Makenzy Doniak 6 (unassisted) 68′
3. UVa. Caroline Miller 2 (Brittany Ratcliffe 1) 73′
Shots: UVa 19, UT 11
Corners: UVa 9, UT 0
Saves: UVa 5 (Danielle DeLisle 1, Churchill O’Connell 4), UT 8 (Ava Vogel 8)
Fouls: UVa 5, UT 9
Attendance: 1751