Women’s soccer: #1 UVA downs Syracuse, 5-0, in ACC opener

Junior Kristen McNabb (Montville, N.J.) scored a pair of goals on Sunday to lead No. 1 Virginia (7-0-1, 1-0-0 ACC) to a 5-0 win over Syracuse (4-5-1, 0-1-0 ACC) in the conference opener for both teams.

The Cavaliers’ offense scored a flurry of goals in the second half after holding the 1-0 lead at halftime. It was matched by a stellar defensive performance that allowed only one shot on the afternoon by Syracuse.

Virginia out-shot the Orange 20-to-1 for the day.

“It’s a very important win, starting off conference play with a win,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “You have to take your points when you can get them, especially at home. We made some strides from last weekend. Today we controlled the tempo from start to finish, we took care of the ball and we made good decisions for the most part.”

Virginia got on the board in the 17th minute when the Orange were unable to turn away a Cavalier attack. Kaili Torres (Fleming Island, Fla.) took the ball and tapped it back toward the top center of the box for Makenzy Doniak (Chino Hills, Calif.) who fired the shot and buried it in the net to put the home team on top 1-0.

The Cavaliers held the 1-0 lead at the half and held the visiting Orange to no shots in the first period.

Virginia wasted little time in getting a second goal in the match, adding to the lead in the 55th minute.  Doniak got loose on the far side of the field and dribbled into the box, sending a pass ahead to Brittany Ratcliffe (Williamstown, N.J.) who centered the ball and scored for the two-goal lead.

The Cavaliers didn’t let up, getting a goal from McNabb in the 59th minute off a tap back from Betsy Brandon (Littleton, Colo.) and an unassisted goal from Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) in the 61st minute to take the lead out to 4-0.

McNabb found the net for the second time in the match in the 89th minute. Syracuse failed to clear a cross from the Cavaliers, instead kicking the ball to McNabb in the box who scored to give Virginia a 5-0 lead on the visiting Orange.

The Cavaliers continue a five-game home stand on Thursday night, hosting No. 3 Notre Dame at 7 p.m. It’s the annual scarf promotion night as fans can receive a Virginia soccer scarf. Former Cavaliers Morgan Brian and Danielle Colaprico will be signing autographs prior to the match at Klöckner Stadium.