Women’s soccer: No. 6 UVA posts 5-1 win over Hofstra

The No. 6 UVA women’s soccer team (5-0-0) remained undefeated on the season as five different players notched goals on the way to a 5-1 victory over Hofstra (3-2) at Klöckner Stadium on Sunday (Sept. 2).

Virginia got goals from Alissa Gorzak (Naperville, Ill.), Rebecca Jarrett (Washington Township, N.J.), Lorato Sargeant (Great Falls, Va.), Alexa Spaanstra (Brighton, Mich.) and Taryn Torres (Frisco, Texas) on the way to the win.

Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) improved to 4-0-0 on the season as she picked up the decision. She played the first half as Virginia built a 3-0 lead before Sarah Maurer (Roanoke, Va.) and Michaela Moran (Greeley, Colo.) took over in goal for the second half.

“I thought we took some steps forward here on both the attacking and defensive side of the ball,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “We were better in transition. It’s not perfect, but we took a step forward which is good to see. That just shows the players worked very hard this week. Their energy and effort in training really paid off this week and we need to keep that going because we need to continue to improve.”

Meghan McCool (Glenside, Pa.) set up the first scoring play when she took the ball off the foot of the Hofstra keeper who came off her line to challenge the Virginia attack. As McCool attempted to dribble around the keeper, she was taken down in the box to set up the penalty kick. Torres lined up the penalty and buried it in goal for the 1-0 lead.

The lead grew to 2-0 in favor of the Cavaliers when Jarrett scored in the 30th minute. Off a free kick following an offside call, Hofstra played the ball short with the keeper taking the kick 25 yards out on the reset. The Virginia freshman stepped in to challenge, taking the ball off the foot of the Hofstra player receiving the kick and raced into the box to score on the empty net.

Gorzak provided the third goal of the first half when she scored in the 42nd minute. Lorato Sargeant (Great Falls, Va.) dribbled in behind the defense down the far side of the box before serving the ball back across to Gorzak at the top of the box. The sophomore forward the fired across the face of the goal, slipping the ball in past the far left post for the 3-0 lead.

Virginia extended the lead in the 50th minute as Torres found Spaanstra in the six-yard box. Torres dribbled in along the end line and cut back into the field before chipping the ball over the head of two defenders to Spaanstra at the far right post. Spaanstra headed it in from point-blank range to extend the Virginia lead to 4-0.

Megan Fisher got Hofstra on the board in the 64th minute when she collected a loose ball in the box as neither team could control for a clean shot or a clearance. Fisher took the shot from 10 yards out, striking the cross bar and deflecting in for the score.

Virginia answered with a fifth goal in the 75th minute when Jarrett found Sargeant two yards out in the box. Sargeant knifed through the defense on her run where Jarrett found her on the cross. The ball found Sargeant in stride as she knocked it in for the 5-1 lead.

The Cavaliers will return to action on Thursday (Sept. 6), closing out a three-match homestand against Liberty. Kick is set for 7 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.