A first-half goal from Brianna Westrup (Corona del Mar, Calif.) proved to be the difference on Sunday (Sept. 3) as No. 3 Virginia (4-1-0) defeated Richmond (0-4-0) by a score of 1-0 at Klöckner Stadium.
The Cavaliers got chances throughout the afternoon, but only the one goal as Richmond’s keeper, Olivia Sjodin, made 12 saves on the afternoon. Virginia out-shot the Spiders 30-to-4, including 13 shots on goal.
It’s the seventh consecutive shutout of Richmond by Virginia in the series and the eighth consecutive win.
Freshman goalkeeper Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) posted her third clean sheet of the season as she improved to 4-1-0 on the year.
“We’re happy with the result,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “If you look at our schedule, any time we can get a result is a good thing – especially at home. We have to get better. It’s still early, but we have to get better. Hopefully we can learn from this game and move forward.”
Virginia broke through in the 25th minute when Westrup converted the header on the set piece off the corner from Taylor Ziemer (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Following a punch over the net by Richmond off a point-blank shot from Montana Sutton (Bedminster, N.J.) that set up the corner, Ziemer sent the ball into the box where Westrup headed it in past the near left post for the 1-0 lead.
At the half, the Cavaliers held a 16-to-2 edge in shots on the Spiders. That lead grew in the second half as Virginia put together 14 more shots, but the Richmond defense turned away each chance created by the Cavalier offense for the final margin of victory.
Virginia will return to action with two matches this week, closing out a five-match home stand. The first match comes at 7 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 7) when the Cavaliers host top-ranked UCLA. Virginia will then close out the home stand at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 10) when the Cavaliers host No. 4 Penn State.
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Chris Graham
