Lia Godfrey scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, and Victoria Safradin saved a penalty kick chance, as #3 Virginia shut out Pitt, 2-0, on Sunday at Klöckner Stadium.
The ‘Hoos (11-2-3, 5-2-2 ACC) struck quickly with a goal in the third minute of play. Kiki Maki played a ball out wide to Maggie Cagle streaking down the right side to trigger the attack. Cagle cut in along the endline, dancing past a defender before her service into the six found Godfrey for a header.
Virginia doubled the lead in the 19th minute off a corner from Godfrey. The midfielder drove a hard and low corner that deflected off a defender at the near post for the 2-0 lead.
A foul in the box gave Pitt (5-10-2, 1-8-0 ACC) a chance to get on the board late in the half as the Panthers lined up for a penalty kick in the 89th minute. Pitt’s Katie Ellermeyer lined up for the shot and sent it low and to the right post, but Safradin was up the task as the Virginia keeper made the diving save to preserve the shutout.
“It was great to honor the seniors today. It’s always a bittersweet time because you’re getting ready to play a game, which you’re excited about, but on the other side of it there are emotions about a class that will leave us in a little bit,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “We were happy we got the win. We had a good first half, but dropped off a little bit in the second half. Credit to Pitt, they stayed organized and worked hard. On the run we’ve had, it was nice to get back, get a win and stabilize ourselves a bit as we prepare for our last home game.”
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Chris Graham
