Tenth-ranked Tennessee got out to an early lead, #12 Virginia got an equalizer two minutes into to the second half, and the teams stalemated from there on their way to a 1-1 draw on Thursday at Klöckner Stadium.
UT (4-0-1) got on the board in the fifth minute off a counter following a Virginia corner kick. A turnover led to a quick attack as Ines Derrien sent the ball ahead to Shae O’Rourke at midfield. O’Rourke redirected with one touch, sending the ball ahead behind the defense for a running Taylor Cheatham, who finished a one-on-one chance for the score.
UVA (4-0-1) equalized in the 47th minute off a header from Addison Halpern. Resetting the offense on the left side of the box, Liv Rademaker passed the ball out to Faith Broering, who immediately served it to a running Halpern at the back post for the finish.
“They’re a very good team. They could have had a few more in that first 15 minutes, and we weathered that storm,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “We got a great goal in the second half and were in a great position to get a couple more. Credit to Tennessee. They’re a great team and well organized. They put pressure on us that we hadn’t seen to this point. That was a great save by Vicki Safradin to keep the draw for us. Overall, there are a lot of lessons we can take away. It was a nice college soccer match and a good advertisement for women’s soccer.”
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Chris Graham
