Women’s Soccer: No. 3 Virginia shuts out No. 9 Santa Clara

Sophomore Lia Godfrey hit her first goal of the season to deliver a victory for No. 3 Virginia on Thursday as the Cavaliers defeated No. 9 Santa Clara by a score of 1-0 at Sentara Park.

It was the opening game of the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational for the Cavaliers (5-0-0).

A foul in the 70th minute of play near the top left corner of the box set up a free kick opportunity for the Cavaliers when Samar Guidry was taken down as she wove through the Santa Clara (2-1-2) defense, resulting in the chance for Virginia.

Godfrey lined up the kick and bent it in past the near post to give the Cavaliers the lead.

“It was a good win. I thought we played some good soccer in the match” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “Santa Clara is a difficult team to break down and that was evident tonight. For us to come out of here with a win against an opponent like this says a lot about our team at this point in time. But, we’re still assessing and learning and growing. We still need to improve.”

Virginia will return to action on Sunday afternoon when the Cavaliers close play at the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational against host JMU at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast through FloSports and is available on a subscription basis.