Women’s soccer: No. 11 Virginia downs Miami 1-0 Thursday Night

Freshman Taryn Torres (Frisco, Texas) scored her third goal of the season on Thursday night, lifting No. 11 Virginia (6-2-2, 1-0-1 ACC) to a 1-0 victory over Miami (4-3-0, 0-1-0 ACC) at Klöckner Stadium.

With the goal, Torres is tied for the team-lead in goals with sophomore Taylor Ziemer (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Each Cavalier has three goals to date.

The Cavaliers had the run of play for most of the match, out-shooting the Hurricanes 23-to-2 on the night as the Virginia defense turned thwarted the few opportunities presented to Miami. It was the fifth shutout of the season for freshman keeper Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) and second in two ACC contests for Virginia.

“Miami was very committed to not giving up goals and that makes it difficult in our sport,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “We played a very good first half and did a lot of good things. We found space and had a number of good chances. It was a good goal and we did a good job of getting to the end line and crossing the ball in to Taryn (Torres).”

After several attempts were just off the mark, Virginia broke through with a goal in the 29th minute as Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) connected with Torres. Reid gained possession of the ball near midfield and dribbled down the far side of the box looking for an opening. She found that opening steps from the end line and sent the ball back into the six-yard box to Torres. The freshman, who was waiting in the center of the six-yard box, headed it in to the left of the Miami keeper to give Virginia the 1-0 lead.

The Cavaliers held a 12-to-0 advantage in shots at the half.

The second half presented more opportunities for the Cavaliers as the home team fired off 11 more shots. Miami keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce posted nine saves on the night.

Virginia’s best chance in the second half came off a free kick in the 84th minute when Brianna Westrup (Corona del Mar, Calif.) lined up for a free kick outside the top of the box following a Miami foul. Westrup delivered a solid strike that hit the crossbar and bounced back into the field of play. Hana Kerner (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) collected the ball and fired off a second shot that was saved by Miami to prevent Virginia from finding the second goal.

The Cavaliers return to action on Sunday (Sept. 24), hosting No. 8 North Carolina at 3 p.m. in a contest televised on ESPNU.