No. 2 Virginia Plays Maryland To Draw In Final Exhibition
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Aug. 17, 2015
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. РSenior Makenzy Doniak (Chino Hills, Calif.) found the back of the net twice on Monday as No. 2 Virginia played Maryland to a 2-2 draw in a preseason exhibition match at Kl̦ckner Stadium.
Despite ending regulation in a draw, the two squads moved to a shootout in lieu of playing overtime periods. Virginia won the shootout on the sixth penalty kick.
“We saw a lot tonight and that was a good thing,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “It was an up and down game and for us, that’s a good thing. We were able to see things in transition, in defense and our offense that we need to work on. From an exhibition standpoint that’s everything you want, but obviously we’re disappointed we didn’t open things up based on the opportunities we were able to create.
“There’s a lot to take away from this game and I’m confident we will do that with a full week remaining in training before the season starts. It’s still very early. It gave us a chance to see a lot of players and with so many new faces, that’s a good thing.”
The Cavaliers got on the board in the 13th minute when Doniak took a long pass from senior Kaili Torres (Fleming Island, Fla.) and got behind the defense, beating the Maryland keeper one-on-one for the first score of the game.
Maryland tied the match in the 24th minute with a goal from the top of the box that just slipped in over the leaping hands of the Cavalier keeper.
Virginia would waste no time in grabbing the lead back when Doniak took advantage of a Terrapin turnover and converted on her second goal of the night in the 26th minute. With the goal, Virginia took a 2-1 lead.
Maryland got a direct kick following a foul outside the top of the box in the 89th minute and the Terrapins converted to tie the match.
The two squads moved to the shootout following regulation play, with both squads converting the first five kicks. The teams lined up for a sixth kick each and Virginia’s junior keeper Jessie Ferrari (Fairfax, Va.) converted the save before the Cavaliers would hit the sixth kick to win the shootout.
The contest against Maryland closed out preseason competition for the Cavaliers who will open the regular season at home on Sunday against UNC-Wilmington. Sunday’s match is set for a 2 p.m. start.