UVA Women’s Soccer Stumbles in 0-0 Draw vs Iowa

Two weeks ago, the Virginia Cavaliers were ranked #12 in the country. Then after a week which included a 2 – 1 win over a West Virginia team that is just outside the top 25, the women inexplicably dropped to #18. I had thought that the snub would provide some motivation, but for a second straight game against middling Big 10 competition, the women came out flat.

The Iowa Hawkeyes came to Klöckner victorious in all five games they’d played, conceding just a single goal along the way. Playing a true 3 – 5 – 2, Iowa flooded the midfield and they certainly controlled the run of play. Virginia spent much of the first half pinned back, even though the Iowa frontline was not particularly aggressive pressing the ball.

The problem that UVa had, in both of these Big 10 games, is that there is no ready like-kind replacement for the season-ending loss of Laney Rouse. Head coach Steve Swanson has opted to go with what I would call an unbalanced 4-3-3, or what game announcer Paddy Foss described as a 3 – 5 – 2. I don’t see it that way, since the left side – left back Samar Guidry, left midfielder Yuna McCormack and left winger Maggie Cagle – play the same way regardless of the formation. The problem in on the right. Neither Chloe Japic, the nominal right wingback in Foss’s 3 – 5 – 2, or Kiki Maki, the third centerback, are comfortable in those roles. Japic is uncertain as to when to advance, and she’s very left-footed while Maki provides zero width. Kiki is going to be a fine replacement in the center of defense next year, and she had probably the highlight of the first half as she had an excellent block on a nice Iowa counter.

It was a very crowded midfield. Iowa was playing with five while Virginia had four, with Japic destroying the spacing. Kind of like in men’s hoops when Francisco Caffaro and Jayden Gardner both saw the court at the same time. The way that Virginia attacked Iowa was problematic for the entire first half, as Virginia’s central defenders – Maki, Lacey McCormack and Talia Staude – continually by-passed the midfield and tried to connect with Cagle and Meredith McDermott, neither of whom are particularly strong with their backs to the goal. The result? Lots of turnovers.

I wasn’t tracking it, but I’m reasonably sure that the first defender to midfielder completed pass came in the game’s 14th minute when Maki completed a pass to Jill Flammia. Midfield is the strength of this team, even with the losses of Emma Dawson and Lia Godfrey. Flammia on the right is the creative pivot of the team, Alexis Theoret in the middle can control the game without needing to be the focal point, and Yuna McCormack is a great replacement for Godfrey. In fact, McCormack had one of the two best chances in the first half, when she stole the ball and drove right at the keeper. She was a bit wide and the ball was in no-man’s land between both feet and she might have been thinking of her great assist to Cagle vs. George Mason. She opted to try to find a closely guarded Cagle when a shot would probably have been a better choice.

Virginia had one other good opportunity late in the first half as Guidry lifted a lovely cross to Maya Carter, who had made a great run to the penalty spot. The header wasn’t as good as the run as it flashed over the bar. For the half, the women had but two shots (none on frame) and nary a corner.

But Swanson is either the master of the half-time adjustment, or he gives the best halftime pep talks, and I was confident that we’d seen the worst the Cavaliers had to offer on this night.

The Cavaliers roared to life in the second half and it was a change of shape that was the catalyst. Swanson restored his preferred 4 – 4 – 3, pulling Maki and inserting Allie Ross as a true winger. With Ross and Cagle pushing wider and farther up the pitch, Iowa’s wingbacks were forced to drop back. This in turn gave Jill Flammia and Yuna McCormack more space to maneuver. And that’s a good thing. This team needs the ball at Flammia’s feet, and she had more touches in the first 15 minutes of the second half than she did in the entire first half. The second half looked like Virginia football and Iowa retreated to a low block for most of the second half. The game was Virginia’s to win but it was a case of too little, too late. Flammia took a heavy foul, and despite trying to play on, she was subbed out with 20 minutes left in the game.

It has been apparent all season that Virginia wants to attack on corners and wide free kicks by taking them short with a secondary player whipping in the cross. The team has been making progress working out the kinks and for the first time, the corners were all dangerous. Virginia put lots of crosses into the box that bounced around dangerously but were just a bounce away from a Virginia attacker. Iowa was on the back foot and twice in the game’s last 90 seconds, Iowa players received yellow cards for just dragging down Lacey McCormack and Maggie Cagle. For a second time against a Big 10 opponent, the Hoos would probably have come out ahead, were overtime still a thing.

With that, the Virginia Cavaliers conclude the “first” season at 5-0-2 and begin ACC play at Louisville next Saturday, September 16th at 7:00pm. According to the Louisville site, the game will be on ACC Network Extra.

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