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Virginia clinches ACC women’s soccer regular-season title

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uva logo blueA Florida State shot in the second OT hit the post, preserving a 1-1 draw that leaves #1 Virginia as the 2021 regular-season ACC women’s soccer champ.

The ‘Hoos (15-1-2, 8-0-2) struck first with a goal in the 63rd minute off the foot of Diana Ordoñez. Samar Guidry picked up a pass on the left wing and raced toward the endline, cutting in and playing a ball into the six.

Ordoñez redirected it in from point-blank range to put the Cavaliers on top 1-0.

Florida State (14-1-2, 7-1-2 ACC) answered four minutes later when Clara Robbins tapped a ball out to Yujie Zhao who fired a shot from range that slipped into the upper right corner of the goal out of the reach of a leaping Laurel Ivory.

The teams would play to a stalemate down the stretch, though the Cavaliers would put a pair of shots on frame in the first overtime period, while the Seminoles’ only shot in overtime hit the post in the second overtime period.

Virginia outshot the Seminoles 12-to-10 for the match – including a 2-to-1 edge in the overtime periods – and held a 5-to-1 advantage in corner kicks.

With the result, the Cavaliers win the ACC regular-season title for the first time since the 2015 season and third time overall.

“I’m very proud of the team tonight, not only for winning the championship, but even more for digging in and playing so hard at a challenging environment at Florida State,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “It was a great college soccer match that could have gone either way. We figured out ways to win throughout the year in the conference and that is saying a lot since it really is the most competitive league in the country.

Virginia receives a bye in the ACC Tournament and will return to action in the semifinals of the tournament next Friday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

The Cavaliers will face the winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal match between Notre Dame and Clemson. Game times have yet to be determined for the semifinal matches.

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