Senior defender Kristen McNabb (Montville, N.J.) came up big for the Cavaliers on Friday (Sept. 16), scoring two goals as No. 5 UVA (8-1-0, 1-0-0 ACC) defeated No. 17 Virginia Tech (8-2-0, 0-1-0 ACC) by a score of 2-0 in the Commonwealth Clash.
The two goals were the first goals of the season for McNabb, who notched both scores off corner kicks with a goal in each half to help lift the Cavaliers to the ACC-opening win. Virginia has now posted a shutout in all eight victories this season.
The victory came in front of a single-game record crowd of 3,966 fans, passing the previous single-game mark of 3,894 set against Florida State in the 2013 season (a crowd of 4,260 saw the Cavaliers play in 1996 as part of a doubleheader with the men’s team).
“That was a hard-fought game tonight,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “Virginia Tech is physical and they don’t quit. They really capitalize on an opponent’s mistakes. We did a good job of minimizing those or making them 100 yards from our own goal. They aren’t an easy team to beat or an easy team to shut out.
“It was a great effort from the game last week and a good response. We had a good week of training and we were very focused. The crowd was fantastic tonight and made a big difference. They were the number one reason we had the energy we had tonight. It was fantastic.”
Virginia got on the board in the 32nd minute when McNabb found the net for her first goal of the season. Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) sent in a service off the corner kick on the far side of the field. Meghan Cox (Springfield, Va.) headed it toward the goal where it hit off a Virginia Tech defender and fell to the feet of McNabb who finished for the 1-0 lead.
The Cavaliers held an 8-to-4 lead in shots at the break, while Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) notched her lone save of the game on the only shot on goal by the Hokies on the evening.
McNabb found the net a second time in the 75th minute, again off a corner from Shaffer to give Virginia the 2-0 lead on the Hokies. Shaffer sent the corner into McNabb 14-yards out in the middle of the box. The senior defender again finished for the two-goal lead.
Virginia continued to limit possessions for the Hokies down the stretch, securing the victory in the conference opener for both teams. The Cavaliers out-shot Virginia Tech 23-to-6 on the night, limiting the Hokies to only two shots in the second half.
Friday night’s match was sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. With Virginia’s victory, the Cavaliers have earned a point in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash. The score for the Clash is now University of Virginia – 1 and Virginia Tech – 0. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at the website by going online to www.TheCommmonwealthClash.com.
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Chris Graham
