No. 1 Virginia Battles No. 19 Pepperdine To 2-2 Draw
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Box Score Sept. 6, 2015
MALIBU, Calif. – The Cavaliers got an equalizing goal from Courtney Petersen (Canton, Mich.) in the 85th minute of play, but couldn’t find a third goal on the day to grab the win as No. 1 Virginia (4-0-1) played No. 19 Pepperdine (4-1-1) to a 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon.
After going up 1-0 early in the match, Pepperdine scored the equalizing goal before the half. The second frame saw the home-standing Waves take the lead before Petersen would find the net for Virginia and force the match into overtime.
“We battled today, but I have to give credit to Pepperdine because I thought they were the better team today,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “They imposed their style on the match better than we did today. We were fortunate to come away with the draw, but I’m happy with the way we fought in the overtime and almost pulled it out.
“Overall, we benefitted a lot from the weekend,” Swanson said. “We played two very good teams and learned a lot about ourselves. Now it’s about going back and seeing if we can get better as a club – which I know we will.”
Virginia got several scoring opportunities early in the first half. The best early chance came in the 18th minute when Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) served a ball into the box for Meghan Cox (Springfield, Va.). A leaping Cox got a head on the ball, but the shot hit the crossbar and bounced back into the field of play where it bounced loose and Veronica Latsko’s (McMurray, Pa.) ensuing header went high for a goal kick.
The Cavaliers got on the board in the 29th minute when Latsko again got in behind the defense on the far side and took a pass from Tina Iordanou (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) and fired a shot past the keeper to give Virginia the 1-0 lead.
Pepperdine tied the match in the 36th minute, converting off a free kick following a Virginia foul. The Waves sent the ball in from outside the box on the near side of the field to a leaping Danielle Harris who headed it towards the goal. The Cavalier’s keeper got a hand on the ball, but couldn’t secure it as it bounced across the line for the equalizing goal.
The score held at 1-1 at the half.
After an initial offensive press from the Waves to start the second half, the Cavaliers countered with an offensive surge and a pair of solid scoring chances. The Pepperdine defense answered the challenge each time.
At the 63rd minute, Shaffer got an opportunity and fired a shot from the top of the box. The Pepperdine keeper made a diving save, tipping the ball away from slipping in past the near post.
Shaffer again got another chance in the 65th minute when she got loose in the box on the far side. The keeper went down trying to come out to secure the ball in the scrum as the ball bounced around between the two teams. Shaffer collected the ball and fired the shot, but a defensive recovery resulted in a blocked shot as a Pepperdine player slipped back in goal and deflected the ball at the last second to keep the score tied at 1-1.
Pepperdine moved into the lead in the 81st minute when Bri Visalli took the ball at the top of the box when the Cavaliers failed to clear an attack.
The Cavaliers wasted no time in mounting a response, putting forth an attack as play restarted that resulted in a foul just outside the top of the box on the near side of the field. Petersen fired the free kick up over the wall and in right under the crossbar to even the match at 2-2 in the 85th minute.
Neither team could find the net again in regulation and the match moved to overtime.
Virginia got a great chance in the 99th minute of play when Petersen sent a service in to the far post. Brittany Ratcliffe (Williamstown, N.J.) got off the shot, but the keeper made the save to send the match into a second overtime period.
Neither team could find the net in the second overtime despite each side getting opportunities as the match ended in a draw.
Virginia will return to action next weekend, returning to Klöckner Stadium to host Harvard and Old Dominion in a pair of matches. The Cavaliers will face Harvard at 7 p.m. on Friday night before hosting Old Dominion at 2 p.m. on Sunday.