ACC Tournament: Virginia Women’s Soccer Falls to UNC in the Final

The Cavaliers gave up a goal in the first three minutes and it was all downhill from there, getting blanked 2 – 0 by the Tar Heels.

Virginia crumbles early. | Val Prochaska

This game was over in the 19th minute when Ella Carter got stripped of the ball and UNC pounced for their second goal of the game.  If Ella Carter, only the most reliable ball handler on the Cavaliers, is going to get dispossessed in her final third, well there is no way that Virginia was going to be able to compete with Carolina’s pace and power.  Much like the rattle snake v king snake battle that the king snake always wins, Virginia (the rattler in this scenario) is not on the same playing field as UNC (the king snake, natch.)

In the two teams’ meeting back in late September, UNC scored three goals in under three minutes early in the first half.  Virginia came out stronger in the second half, scored a goal, and took the game to the Tar Heels, but it was too little, way too late.  The same was true on this day as North Carolina scored in the third and nineteenth minutes, and true to form, Virginia came out more poised and more disciplined in the second half.  Steve Swanson teams are always very well coached, each player knows her role, and all can possess the ball.  And for UNC’s part, it is natural to take the foot off the gas a bit, to play more for the win than the next goal.

So of course, Virginia was going to play themselves back into the game.  And there was a would-a, could-a, should-a moment just three minutes when Virginia almost scored.  A lovely Sophia Bradley cross drew a rather weak punch out from the Carolina keeper.  The ball fell to Addison Halpern.  She had time, got the ball on her right foot, and hit a rocket that hit the crossbar.  Seriously.  The goal was still wobbling five seconds later.  The shot, though, might not have been the right choice.  The keeper was out of the goal and I think the moment called for a shot with a lot more polish, and opposed to the venom that Halpern hit it with.

The moment passed, and while Virginia would out-run and out-possess Carolina for the next 30 minutes or so, UNC was able to button up this game with relative ease.

There is nothing like a game against North Carolina to showcase one’s shortcomings.  Virginia has been highly susceptible to the press for four or five seasons now.  There is not enough team speed in the central midfield pairing of Ella Carter and Jordyn Hardeman, nor among the three central defenders of Pearl Cecil, Kathryn Kelly and Tatum Galvin.  Every player in the back line got caught in possession, every Virginia player, maybe excepting Allie Ross, turned the ball over with a poor pass in Virginia’s back third.  It remains an adventure for Virginia to play the ball out of the back.  Here’s a scouting tip for any low-major team that Virginia will play in the first couple of rounds of the NCAA tournament:  just pump the ball over the end line.  Make Virginia take as many goal kicks as you can.  Do that often enough and Virginia will turn the ball in a dangerous area.

If Steve Swanson ever wants to win another ACC tournament (last won 14 years ago) or, heaven forbid, an NCAA tournament, he’s going to have to find another assistant coach who can coach the women on breaking the press.  Swanson is a loyal program guy, and he’s been very successful here at Virginia, but it is clear to me that if Swanson wants to bring hardware to this program, either Ron Raab or Lizzie Sieracki is going to have to go.

This was a hard game to watch.  Going down within three minutes was always going to be too tall a mountain to climb.  It must be nice to be UNC, to have the ACC so wrapped around your finger.  It might have made sense, you know 40 years ago when the ACC was just eight schools and four of them were in North Carolina, to set up shop in the state and allocate the Heels perpetual home-field advantage for basketball and soccer ACC tournaments.  It must be nice to sleep in your same beds, go to your classes during the tournament, have overwhelming crowd support.  I really hate it when North Carolina wins one of their home tournaments.  This as much as any other.

Next Up:  Virginia will make the NCAA tournament.  The draw is Monday, November 16th.  Virginia will most likely host their first two tournament games as one of the top 16 seeds.  The first game will be this weekend.