Lia Godfrey delivered a pair of first-half goals vault the Cavaliers to an early lead as the third-seeded Virginia women’s soccer team defeated Xavier by a score of 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Godfrey scored twice in the first 20 minutes for UVA (15-3-3). The first came in the sixth minute as a clearance from the Musketeer keeper was received by Emma Dawson and sent forward to Godfrey in the box. Godfrey’s shot hit the left post and deflected in for the goal.
Her second strike came in the 20th minute when she played a ball ahead to Hopkins in the box, where Hopkins back-heeled it to Godfrey near the spot and the junior finished the chance for the 2-0 lead.
Xavier (14-4-5) answered two minutes later with a free kick at the top of the box bent in past the left post to cut the lead in half.
Virginia pushed the lead back out to two goals in the 72nd minute off a goal from Maggie Cagle. Haley Hopkins played a beautiful ball ahead to Cagle down the right side, setting up a one-on-one chance for Cagle with the Xavier keeper who had come off her line.
The sliding keeper slowed Cagle up, but she stayed with the play and took a second chance as the Musketeer defense set back up. Cagle put the ball on frame by the near post and it deflected in off the hands of the keeper for the score.
“We weren’t quite sure how we would get started today given what our football program, University, athletic department and community has been through. It’s been a tough week,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the young men who lost their lives and with our football program. One thing that has been the case since I’ve been at Virginia is that it is a very tight-knit family and this hurts everyone.
“I’m really proud of our team, not just because of the result, but because of the courage they displayed throughout these past few days,” Swanson said. “Once the game started and everyone settled in, I think we performed well. Xavier is a quality team what are a tough team to score goals against. I thought we started well and were pretty consistent on both sides of the ball throughout the game.
Virginia will return to the pitch on Sunday when the Cavaliers face No. 2 seed Penn State (15-4-3) in the Sweet 16.
Kick is set for 5 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
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Chris Graham
