UVA Soccer: Stanford, again, too much for ‘Hoos, in 3-2 win in ACC Tournament

Seventh-ranked Virginia fell behind 3-0 at the half, and that proved to be too much as a late rally came up short in a 3-2 loss to top-ranked Stanford on Thursday in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Stanford (16-1-1) now has two wins over the ‘Hoos (12-3-4) this season.

“Congrats to Stanford, they’re a good team. I through we showed our quality in the second half, but disappointed in the result of the first half. It really put us behind, obviously, but we showed a tremendous amount of heart coming back. We were knocking on the door for the third one,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said.

Down three at the break, Virginia finally got on the board in the 58th minute off the foot of Meredith McDermott. Ella Carter served a ball over the top from midfield to McDermott streaking down the right side of the field. The pass led McDermott in behind the defense for the shot as she entered the box.

The Stanford keeper, Caroline Birkel, got a hand on the shot, but couldn’t stop it from finding the net.

The ‘Hoos cut the lead to one after a penalty kick from Maggie Cagle in the 85th minute. A shot from Lia Godfrey was deflected and bounced high, with Pearl Cecil leaping for the chance inside the six, where she was knocked down from behind by a Cardinal player to give Virginia the penalty chance.

Both teams had 20 shots, and Stanford had a 10-8 edge in shots on goal.

“It’s tough to take,” Swanson said. “We were good for 45 minutes, but at this level and stage of the tournament you have to be good for 90 minutes. Full marks to Stanford, they have a good team. I’m proud of our team and thought they showed a lot of heart in the second half.”

Virginia will await the announcement on the NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced on Monday. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is set for 4 p.m. on NCAA.com.