Latsko's Golden Goal Lifts No. 13 Virginia Past Louisville
Oct. 8, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior forward Veronica Latsko (Venetia, Pa.) continued to make herself a scoring threat for the Cavaliers, hitting the golden goal for No. 13 Virginia (8-3-3, 3-1-2 ACC) in a 1-0 win over Louisville (8-6-0, 2-4-0 ACC) on Sunday afternoon.
With time winding down in the first overtime period, senior defender Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) played a long ball down the field and over the top of the defense. Latsko, who slipped in behind the defense, got the better of the keeper in a one-on-one situation before the defense could recover and hit the golden goal in the 99th minute to give Virginia the win.
It’s the fifth goal in the last three matches for Latsko who turned in a hat trick against Pittsburgh a week ago and hit a goal for the Cavaliers against Notre Dame on Thursday night in a 1-1 draw with the Irish.
“In the overtime we were really knocking on the door even more than we were in the second half,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “You felt it was coming. We just caught them on a break and Veronica got in and did what she does best. She has an amazing amount of energy. To do what she did all game long is impressive, to be sure.
“You want to win so badly, but you have to do the little things that lead to a quality chance. We were trying to get it all back in one pass or one play at times. It’s a matter of playing a little more simply, sometimes. Louisville is a tough defense team that works hard and is athletics. We knew it wouldn’t be an easy match and we would have to pick-and-choose our times and show some quality in the attacking third. That’s where we have to raise our quality a little more.”
The Cavaliers got some dangerous runs in the first half, working the ball into space and getting shots on goal. The Louisville defense was up to the challenge each time with the Cardinals keeper making four saves on the seven shots by Virginia and two shots blocked by Louisville defenders.
It was a similar story on the few chances presented offensively for Louisville as Virginia keeper Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) tallied one save and Cavalier defenders blocked the other two shots by the Cardinals.
Neither team could establish a rhythm through much of a physical second half. Virginia got several opportunities late, tallying eight shots to only two for the Cardinals by the end of regulation, but couldn’t find the net as the match moved into overtime.
Lorato Sargeant (Great Falls, Va.) got a great chance for the Cavaliers in the 93rd minute, delivering a strike from the far side of the box that glanced off the near post and over the end line. The opening proved to be an indicator of what would come as Virginia converted on its second scoring opportunity of the period with the game-winner from Latsko.
Virginia returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 14) when the Cavaliers close out a three-match home stand against Clemson in a 7 p.m. match at Klöckner Stadium.