The No. 4 Virginia women’s soccer team won a battle of undefeated teams Friday at Klöckner Stadium, downing Rutgers 6-0 in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic. The Cavaliers improved to 5-0-0 with the victory, while the Scarlet Knights (4-1-0) suffered their first loss of the season.
Junior midfielder Danielle Colaprico (Freehold, N.J.) scored twice to post her second career multi-goal game. Junior midfielder Morgan Brian (St. Simons Island, Ga.), senior forward Amber Fry (Northfield, Ill.) and freshman midfielder Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) each had a goal and an assist for the Cavaliers, who scored a season-high six goals.
“I thought we played well in the second half,” said head coach Steve Swanson. “We made better decisions and our speed of play was at the level I thought it should be. You have to give Rutgers credit, they were organized and made it tough on us in the first half. Our execution wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be in the first half, but we did much better in the second half.”
Virginia controlled possession from the start, but couldn’t find the opening goal until the 30th minute. After a corner-kick was cleared out of the box, senior defender Shasta Fisher (Saugus, Calif.) sent a ball back into the area that Brian redirected with her head off the far post and in for her third goal of the season. The advantage remained 1-0 until the Cavaliers doubled the lead with 38 seconds remaining before halftime. Senior midfielder Annie Steinlage (Grand Haven, Mich.) threaded a ball to sophomore forward Brittany Ratcliffe (Williamstown, N.J.), who turned and fired in her team-leading fifth goal of the year.
“That second goal, right before half, was critical for us,” said Swanson. “To get a goal at that time is always big. There is a big difference between it being 1-0 and 2-0 at halftime. It was a great finish by Brittany and it allowed us to come out strong in the second half.”
The Cavaliers came out strong in the second half as Colaprico scored twice right after intermission. In the 53rd minute, she collected a ball in the midfield and fired a left-footed shot from 25 yards out that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and in for the third goal of the night. Six minutes later, Brian delivered a long cross to the far post that Colaprico volleyed past the charging keeper for her second goal of the night and third of the season.
Virginia closed out the scoring with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes. In the 77th minute, a clearance was intercepted by Shaffer, who one-timed a blast from the top of the 18 for her first career goal. Less than four minutes later Fry would score her first goal of the season, with a long-range shot of her own from nearly 25 yards.
Overall Virginia outshot Rutgers 19-2 and had a 6-0 corner kick advantage. First-year goalkeeper Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) made one save to post her second shutout of the season, while Jessica Janosz made two saves at the other end for Rutgers.
In Friday’s first game of the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic, William & Mary edged Seton Hall 1-0.
The Cavaliers will conclude their non-conference schedule on Sunday with the conclusion of the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic. Virginia will play Seton Hall at 2:30 p.m., in the final game of the tournament. Rutgers plays William & Mary in Sunday’s first game at noon.
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Chris Graham
