Women’s Soccer: Early goal holds up for #2 Virginia in 1-0 win at #4 Duke

Lia Godfrey hit her second game-winning goal of the 2022 season to lift second-ranked UVA to a 1-0 win at #4 Duke on Sunday at Koskinen Stadium.

Virginia (10-1-1, 3-1-0 ACC) struck on a counter in the first half with Alexa Spaanstra applying the pressure for a turnover at midfield. Godfrey collected and played the ball ahead down the right flank to Haley Hopkins and took off on her run down the midfield.

As Hopkins approached the six, she sent a centering pass to Godfrey, who finished with the one-touch redirect past the back post for the score.
The score would hold up down the stretch as the Cavaliers picked up the road victory.

It’s the fourth game-winning goal of Godfrey’s career and third against a top-10 opponent.

Earlier this season, Godfrey scored the game-winner against then-#2 North Carolina.

Cayla White posted six saves – one off her career high – in posting the clean sheet to help Virginia secure the win.

It was the eighth career shutout for White, who improved to 14-1-1 with the win.

“This was a really good win for our program as we have the utmost respect for Duke, their coaching staff and their team,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “This is a hard place to play, let alone win, so we are proud of the effort from the team. They played hard, together and intelligently which we needed to do in order to get the result.”

Virginia returns home for a pair of ACC contests next week, starting things off with an 8 p.m. contest against No. 7 Florida State on Thursday.