Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
Hopkins Scores 50th, UVA Women's Soccer Takes Down Louisville 2-0
After seeing their undefeated record soiled by a 1-0 loss on the road at No. 18 Notre Dame on Thursday, the Cavaliers looked to bounce back against another ACC opponent on Sunday. And although 73 minutes of scoreless soccer transpired before the Hoos finally broke through, Alexis Theoret and Haley Hopkins each found the back of the net late in the second half to lead No. 2 Virginia women's soccer to a 2-0 victory over Louisville on Sunday afternoon at Klockner Stadium.
UVA came out flat-footed in the first half and Louisville outshot Virginia 5-4 in the opening period. None of those nine shots were on frame, though, a trend that would dominate the match as neither team was particularly accurate with its shots. Louisville did not place a single shot on goal in the match and Virginia's two total shots on goal both found the back of the net, so neither team's goalkeepers made a single save.
Although Virginia had an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks in the match, including five such corner opportunities in the second half, it was a pair of free kicks that allowed UVA to win the game in the final 20 minutes.
In the 74th minute, junior midfielder Alexis Theoret got the Cavaliers on the board at last, blasting a free kick from several feet outside the box that scorched the top left corner of the net for her first goal of the season.
Less than ten minutes later, the Hoos scored again off of another free kick. Talia Staude sent a beautiful ball into the box from close to midfield. Haley Hopkins was surrounded by Louisville defenders, but elevated and managed to get her head on the ball to send it into the back of the net.
That goal was the 50th in the long and decorated career of Haley Hopkins and doubled the UVA lead to all but seal the victory.
Back in the win column, Virginia improves to 9-1-1 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. UVA heads back on the road for another huge ACC challenge at No. 5 Duke on Friday at 7pm.
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