The No. 5 UVA women’s soccer team (6-0-0) posted its fifth shutout of the season and used a pair of second-half goals to take a 2-0 victory over Minnesota (0-4-2) at Klöckner Stadium on Sunday.
Sophomore Ashlynn Serepca (Cornelius, N.C.) hit the go-ahead goal for the Cavaliers and was joined in the scoring column in the final 10 minutes by senior Meghan McCool (Glenside, Pa.) with the insurance goal for the two-goal victory.
The clean sheet from junior Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) was the 20th of her career as she picked up her 33rd career victory. Ivory is now 6-0-0 on the season in goal.
“It was a good result today and in a lot of areas it was also a really good performance,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “We made more consistent and better decisions in the build-up and we got into some very good positions to create chances to score against a team that put a lot of numbers behind the ball. Overall, we can do better in and around the 18, but we had two really good goals from Ashlynn and Meghan.”
Despite not finding the net in the first half, the Cavaliers held a 10-to-0 edge in shots at the break with two shots on frame and multiple shots in the box blocked by the Gopher defense.
Virginia came out firing in the second half, applying pressure to the Minnesota defense with six shots in the first seven minutes of the period – including a header off the crossbar from Ordonez and two shots blocked inside the box.
Minnesota got its first shot in the 65th minute with a one-on-one chance between the Gophers’ Haley Hartkmeyer and the Virginia keeper. As Hartkmeyer fired the shot, Cavalier defender Phoebe McClernon slashed in front of the ball, deflecting it across the end line. It would be the best chance of the match for the Gophers.
The Cavaliers broke through with the Serepca goal in the 78th minute. Taryn Torres (Frisco, Texas) played the ball up the left of the middle of the field, turning and sending it ahead to Serepca just outside the top of the box. The sophomore fired the shot, hitting the crossbar and deflecting down across the line for the score.
Virginia opened up the lead in the 83rd minute when McCool hit her shot from almost the same spot as Serepca’s goal five minutes earlier. This time, Anna Sumpter brought the ball up the field, tapping it over to McCool who struck across her body and slipped the ball in past the left post for the 2-0 lead.
The Cavaliers finished the match with a 23-to-1 advantage in shots, with the Gopher keeper making five saves on the afternoon.
Virginia will return to action on Thursday (Sept. 12), closing out its seven-match homestand to start the season with William & Mary at 7 p.m.
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Chris Graham
