A brace from junior forward Alexa Spaanstra helped the Cavaliers to an opening-round victory in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday as Virginia defeated SIUE by a score of 3-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
The Cavaliers (11-4-2) rallied from a 1-0 deficit, scoring the three unanswered goals to grab the 3-1 victory.
SIUE (8-3-2) struck in the 11th minute when Maria Haro converted following a throw in. The Cougars took the throw in deep in the offensive third and the ball was flicked across the box with a header from Megan Keever to Haro behind the defense. She then sent the ball in across the face of the goal past the far post for the goal.
It would be the only shot of the half and one of only two in the game for the Cougars.
Virginia found the equalizer in the 41st minute when Spaanstra got the ball down the right side of the field and cut toward the box. She dribbled in along the top of the box, weaving through defenders, before turning to take her shot near the penalty mark and skipping it in past the near post.
The Cavaliers got a second goal in the 57th minute when Spaanstra converted a penalty kick after being taken down from behind on a breakaway in the box. The third goal came a little more than 10 minutes later when Talia Staude headed one in off a corner kick in the 69th minute.
The Cavaliers closed strong, finishing off a dominant second half that saw SIUE get only one shot which came 31 seconds into the period.
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Chris Graham
