CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Addison Halpern delivered a brace for the second time this season to help power No. 19 Virginia (9-3-3, 5-3-1 ACC) to a 3-0 victory over No. 12 Louisville (10-2-3, 4-1-3 ACC) at Klöckner Stadium on Thursday night (Oct. 29).
GOALS
31’ – UVA: Addison Halpern (free kick, unassisted)
48’ – Jordyn Hardeman (unassisted)
49’ – Addison Halpern (Kyra Koopman)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hoos scored in the 31st minute with a precision strike from Addison Halpern off a free kick. Halpern was taken down from behind approaching the box to set up the free kick for the Cavaliers. In line with the left post, Halpern went for goal on the kick, slotting the ball in between the keeper and the post for the 1-0 lead.
Virginia came out on fire in the second half, scoring a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the frame. It started in the 48th minute when the Hoos got possession with a turnover in the Cardinals’ defensive third. Halpern took the ball off the touch line nearest the bench and sent it in to Jordyn Hardeman in a pocket of space on the left side. Hardeman dribbled four steps toward the top of the box and fired from 25 yards out, slipping the ball into the upper right corner for the 2-0 lead.
It was less than a minute later that the Hoos found the net for a third time, this time off the head of Halpern. Sophia Bradley played a ball out wide to Kyra Koopman on the left side of the box who took one touch and served it into Halpern at the six. The second year headed it into the right of the keeper for the 3-0 lead.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- Addison Halpern’s brace was her second of the season and she now has 11 goals on the year.
- Halpern has now factored into a goal in 11-of-15 games played and UVA is 8-1-2 in those games.
- The second-half goals from Hardeman and Halpern were 0:46 seconds apart.
- Victoria Safradin’s shutout was her 25th of her career and the sixth of the season.
FROM HEAD COACH STEVE SWANSON
“That was almost a complete game for us which is what we’ve been searching for. Our players did a great job coming out of the gate. We scored some good goals and we defended pretty well. The first 15 minutes might not have been as good as we would have liked, but we came into the match more and more. The second half was a matter of being smart and taking care of the game once we went up 3-0. That’s a very good Louisville team, very organized and disciplined. We have a lot of respect for them and for us to get a result like this was important – especially heading into the last game. We’ve got a little momentum now and we need to see if we can keep it.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia closes out the regular season on the road at No. 5 Duke on Thursday (Nov. 5). Kick is set for 7 p.m.