Women’s Soccer: Virginia defeats Princeton, 2-1, to advance in NCAA Tournament

Virginia got a go-ahead goal early in the second half and held on from there to post a 2-1 win over Princeton in a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium.

The Tigers (14-5-0) struck first with a goal off a turnover in the sixth minute of play. The Cavaliers (13-5-0) turned the ball over near midfield, and Princeton pounced on the opportunity. Zoe Markesini sent the ball ahead to Heather MacNab down the left sideline. MacNab sent it forward to Pietra Tordin, who made a move around the Virginia keeper, Victoria Safradin, who had come off her line, and finished on the empty net.

Virginia equalized in the 14th minute off a goal from Yuna McCormack. The Cavaliers got possession of the ball on the right side of the field near midfield, and Lia Godfrey turned on the attack. She played the ball ahead to McCormack at the center of the field 25 yards out, where she picked the ball up in stride before firing her shot to the right post for the score from distance.

Virginia took the lead in the 48th minute with a goal from Maggie Cagle. Godfrey picked up the ball at the top of the defensive third and turned on the attack. The midfielder weaved her way through the defense, and as she entered the attacking third, she played a through ball ahead to Cagle along the right side of the box. Cagle picked up the ball in stride, sidestepped a defender and fired the shot across and in by the back post.

“That was a good resolve from our group,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “We worked hard the last two weeks, and it’s not very easy to sit idle for two weeks, train and come back and get a first-round opponent like Princeton. They were very good. What a great season they’ve had. Full respect to their team and program. They gave us everything they had, and we knew it was a game that could have gone either way.

“I’m proud of our team after going down a goal, especially the way that goal happened, and to come back and get the win on two pretty nice goals is great. We’re glad to be moving on, and our fans were really fantastic tonight. They made a difference for us,” Swanson said.

Up next: Virginia will face Wisconsin in the second round of action. The location of the second-round matchup will be determined after top-seeded USC faces Sacramento State on Sunday.