Women’s soccer: No. 3 Virginia set for road showdown at No. 5 Clemson

The No. 3 Virginia women’s soccer team hits the pitch Thursday night to take on No. 5 Clemson at 7 p.m. Thursday night in the first of three straight road contests for the Cavaliers.

Virginia (8-1-1, 2-1-0 ACC) plays its first match in almost two weeks after last weekend’s road contest at NC State was postponed due to inclement weather. Clemson (9-1-1, 3-1-0 ACC) is coming off a shutout of ACC foe Wake Forest last weekend.

The contest will be broadcast via web stream on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app. Fans can also follow the Cavaliers on live stats at VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia enters the match having posted a shutout of then No. 19 Duke in its last match, picking up the 1-0 victory over the Blue Devils at home. The road contest at Clemson is only the third of the year for the Cavaliers who also picked up a win at No 8 UCLA and played No. 19 Pepperdine to a draw in the team’s two other road contests this season.

Junior midfielder Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) leads the squad in points with 14 after tallying five goals and four assists on the season. She is one of 11 different players to score goals and 13 different players with an assist, as Virginia is one of the top scoring offenses in the nation again in 2015.

Junior forward Morgan Reuther (Chantilly, Va.) leads the team with six goals, while senior forward Makenzy Doniak (Chino Hills, Calif.) is the team leader in assists with six.  Reuther is also one of two players to notch hat tricks this season, delivering all three goals in a 3-0 win over Harvard. Junior defender Meghan Cox (Springfield, Va.) also tallied a hat trick in the season opener against UNC Wilmington.

Junior Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) has started back-to-back matches in goal for the Cavaliers after posting 22 victories a year ago. She suffered the loss against No. 6 Notre Dame, but has picked up wins this season against No. 8 UCLA and No. 19 Duke. She was the keeper of record in the draw with nationally-ranked Pepperdine.

Catrina Atanda leads the Clemson offense with four goals on the season, while Samantha Staab has posted a team-leading five assists. The Tigers have scored 20 goals this season and have allowed only eight through 11 matches. Kailen Sheridan has been responsible for the Tigers’ five shutouts and holds an 8-1-1 record in goal.