UVA Women's Soccer Loses Two Key Midfielders to Season-Ending Injuries

The Virginia women's soccer team will be without two key midfielders and veteran leaders for the 2023 season. UVA head coach Steve Swanson confirmed on Friday morning that graduate midfielder Emma Dawson and senior midfielder Lia Godfrey will miss the entire 2023 season with injuries. With Haley Hopkins and Alexa Spaanstra graduating, the Cavaliers are now losing each of their top three point scorers from the 2022 season.

"Obviously we lost Haley and Alexa and we had some injuries. Emma Dawson, our captain, is out for the season and so is Lia Godfrey," Swanson said on Friday. "Those are two big losses along with the players that we lost to graduation."

Lia Godfrey has been a key facilitator of the UVA offense since the beginning of her career, starting in 65 of the 66 games she has played in over the last three seasons. Godfrey was named a First-Team All-American and a First-Team All-ACC selection in 2022 after tallying eight goals and five assists, tying with Alexa Spaanstra for second on the team with 21 points. Haley Hopkins led the team with 14 goals and five assists last season.

Emma Dawson, who served as team captain in 2022, appeared in all 23 games with 14 starts, tallying two goals and two assists out of the midfield. Over the last four seasons, Dawson has appeared in 80 total games with 27 starts.

The injuries to Dawson and Godfrey significantly impact the depth and experience of the UVA midfield, but Swanson is confident that there is enough talent on the roster to make up for those losses.

"We're going to have to do it cumulatively. We've got some good players no doubt. There's some talent on this team," Swanson said. "We've had some things happen and it presents opportunities for others. And I think there's some really good players here that I think will rise and it'll be interesting to see who rises."

On Friday, UVA heads to Michigan for a nine-day training camp that will include an exhibition against Notre Dame on Tuesday (Aug. 8) in Maple City, Michigan and concludes with an exhibition at Ohio State on Sunday (Aug. 13) in Columbus, Ohio.

Virginia, which is ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason top 25, will open the 2023 season against Nevada on Thursday, August 17th at 7pm at Klockner Stadium.

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