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Cagle's Strike Lifts No. 8 Virginia Past No. 9 Penn State

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The defense stood tall for the Cavaliers on Thursday night (Sept. 4) as an early goal from Maggie Cagle held up over the final 88 minutes for No. 8 Virginia (5-0-1) in a 1-0 victory over No. 9 Penn State (3-2-1) at Klöckner Stadium.

GOALS
2’ – UVA: Maggie Cagle (Carrie Helfrich, Addison Halpern)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cavaliers took the early lead with a strike in the opening minutes of play. Less than 90 seconds into the game, Carrie Helfrich got free down the left side and served a ball into the box. Addison Halpern tapped it past her to Maggie Cagle on the back side who buried the shot past the left post.

NOTES ON THE GAME

  • Maggie Cagle hit the 10th game-winning goal of her career with her strike on Thursday night.
  • Cagle has now factored into five straight UVA goals against Penn State with two assists and three goals dating back to the 2022 meeting in the NCAA Tournament third round.
  • Carrie Helfrich made her first career start as she opened up the game on the left wing for the Hoos.
  • Helfrich and Halpern each notched their first assists of the season on the Cagle strike.
  • Virginia now leads the series with Penn State 10-8-1.
  • Victoria Safradin posted her 13th career shutout and fifth of the 2025 season.

FROM HEAD COACH STEVE SWANSON
“It was a good effort all around. We were better in every phase and that was something we wanted to improve on from our last game against Georgetown. We were much better in the attack, connected our passes and got in the attacking third much more, and were dangerous. Defensively, we won a lot of first and second balls, we competed hard and our individual defending was better. Probably the only disappointing thing was we didn’t put enough balls on frame, but as far as creating those and putting pressure on them, and their goalkeeper who played well tonight, I thought we did a good job of that.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia continues to play at home next week with a contest against No. 3 Duke on Thursday (Sept. 11) and then a showdown with VCU on Sunday (Sept. 14).

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