#2 UVA women’s soccer defeats Miami in ACC opener, 3-1

The second-ranked UVA women’s soccer team opened ACC play with a 3-1 victory over Miami Saturday night in front of 2,231 fans at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers (9-0, 1-0 ACC) won their conference opener for the 11th time in the past 12 years, while the Hurricanes fell to 2-7 (0-1 ACC) on the season.

Junior forward Makenzy Doniak (Chino Hills, Calif.) had a goal and an assist to lead Virginia. Sophomore Kristen McNabb (Montville, N.J.) and first-year Olivia Hazelrigg (Rolling Hills, Calif.) also scored for the Cavaliers, who ran their ACC regular season win streak to 16 matches.

“It is always good to open the ACC season with a win,” said head coach Steve Swanson. “This conference is so tough that you need to make sure you protect your home field, and we did that tonight. We did some good things, especially in the first half. We had a stretch in the beginning of the second half when we let them back in the game a little bit and they took their chance well. Overall, there are a lot of good things we can take away from this game. We just need to be a little more efficient in finishing the chances we are creating.”

The Cavaliers took the lead in the 17th minute. Kaili Torres’ (Fleming Island, Fla.) throw-in was passed across the box by Doniak to McNabb, who one-timed in her second goal of the season. The lead remained one until Virginia struck again just before halftime, scoring just 13 seconds before the break. Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) played a ball to Hazelrigg who dribbled to the top of the box and fired a shot that found the back of the net for her first career goal.

Miami cut the lead in half in the 60th minute as Natalie Moik controlled a loose ball in the box after a corner kick and blasted home her first goal of the season. It was the Hurricanes’ first goal in seven all-time trips to Klöckner Stadium. Virginia answered just six minutes later to push the lead back to two goals. Doniak and Danielle Colaprico (Freehold, N.J.) had a give-and-go sequence in the box that resulted in Doniak tapping in her sixth goal of the season off of Colaprico’s sixth assist of the year.

Overall, Virginia outshot Miami 20-6 and had a 7-3 corner kick advantage. Sophomore Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) made one save in goal for Virginia, while Miami keeper Emily Lillard made three saves.

The Cavaliers’ 16-game ACC regular season win streak is the fourth longest in conference history. Virginia also extended its home win streak to 25 matches and its win streak against non-conference opponents to 40 games.

Virginia will conclude its five-game homestand on Thursday when it hosts Wake Forest. Game time at Klöckner Stadium is 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast online through Cavaliers Live.