The 11th-ranked Virginia Women’s Soccer, entering its 29th straight NCAA Tournament, begins its run Saturday night for its second national championship of the season against Fairleigh Dickinson. After exiting the tournament fairly early last season as the No. 1 seed (13-3-3, 6-2-2), the Cavaliers are hoping to advance to the College Cup this season.
Keys to Virginia’s Success
resolve aggressive conflicts
In Virginia’s final seven games of the season, which included a loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers outscored their opponents 113-41 and amassed only a 3-2-2 record. This is an alarming trend for Virginia. The quality of his opponents is good, but the Cavaliers should have won him more than three games in that stretch if the team outscored them by more than his 70 shots.
For Virginia to turn these scoring chances into goals, they need to get the ball into the hands of freshman midfielder Maggie Cagle and graduate forwards Hayley Hopkins and Alexa Spanstra. This trio has been the catalyst for the Cavaliers’ offense all season long and must continue to create opportunities for themselves and their teammates if they want to progress through the tournament.
keep a good goalkeeper
Senior goaltender Kayla White had a great season with the Cavaliers. In his first season as a full-time starter, White produced his eight shutouts, but in 16 games he allowed only 12 goals. Part of her domination comes from the Virginia offense controlling possessions for most of the game, but White still keeps the Cavaliers in many close matches and makes outstanding saves.
White’s athleticism has allowed Virginia’s defense to be aggressive, allowing them to push up opposing attackers who have been disrupting the rhythm of their offense all season. must be played to disrupt the flow of attacks.
rely on veteran experience
Virginia has a lot of young talent, but the core of the team is built around a strong group of seniors. Hopkins, Spanstra, and junior midfielder Leah Godfrey are his leaders in the Cavaliers’ top three points this season and have attracted much of the attention of opposing defensemen.
At the back end of the field, senior defender Talia Stoude, graduate student defender Sarah Clarke, and junior defender Summer Guidry have been Virginia’s consistent presences. This trio works in unison on the defensive side of the ball. However, with each of the three scoring goals in the Cavaliers’ big game, the enemy’s defense should also be a concern when receiving the ball. The presence of Virginia’s veteran at all three levels of the field should give him an edge in high-pressure postseason play.
Possible Path to College Cup
Virginia should have no trouble advancing to the first round as they face Fairleigh Dickinson (8-10-3, 5-2-2 NEC), who entered the tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning the Northeast Conference Tournament. is. penalty kick. In the first matchup between his two teams in August, the Cavaliers took a 4–0 lead 26 minutes into the game and eventually won. 5-0 win over Knights.
It will be important for the Cavaliers to start the tournament with another dominant offensive performance to build confidence against the tougher opponents they are likely to face later in the tournament.
In Round 2, the Cavaliers will most likely face No. 22 Tennessee, who will face Xavier in Knoxville, Tennessee. Season. But Tennessee was just 2-3-1 against ranked opponents during the regular season and was shut out by Georgia in the SEC tournament. must be used.
UCLA, the No. 1 seed overall, will be the toughest opponent they will have to face if the Cavaliers want to reach the College Cup for the first time since the spring of 2021. The Bruins (17-2, 9-2 PAC-12) have had a poor postseason run in recent years and are desperate to make it to the College Cup this season. If the Bruins and Cavaliers were to meet in the quarterfinals, it would undoubtedly be one of the best games in the tournament between the two long-powered programs.
The Cavaliers’ path into the depths of the tournament is manageable, but the Cavaliers need to get through their first matchup first. Saturday night’s huge crowd energized the Cavaliers in the first game of the NCAA Tournament, and was able to create momentum in hopes that the Cavaliers would go further.
The game against Virginia’s Fairleigh Dickinson is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday at Kleckner Stadium and will be streamed on NCAA.com.
