Photo by Matt Riley
Season Preview: Virginia Women’s Soccer
The Virginia Cavaliers women’s soccer team has unfinished business.
Just four short months ago, the Hoos took down SIUE, BYU, Rice, and TCU to book a trip to the College Cup for the third time in the last eight years. In Cary, North Carolina, UVA faced off against the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. The match remained scoreless through all of regulation and the first and second overtime periods, before Florida State prevailed in penalty kicks to end Virginia’s season.
Despite an illustrious program history that includes 33 NCAA tournament appearances, four College Cup appearances, two ACC regular season titles, and two ACC tournament titles, the Virginia women’s soccer team has never claimed a national championship. With most of the core of last year’s team returning to Grounds this Fall, the Hoos are locked in and primed for another run at that elusive title.
Roster
Virginia comes into the season ranked #4 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and just one quick look at the UVA roster will show you why.
Laurel Ivory is back for a fifth season as the starting goalkeeper for the Cavaliers. Ivory has started a staggering 79 games in her career and has a real opportunity to reach the century mark this year. An All-ACC third team selection in 2019, Ivory recorded five shutouts last season including four consecutive shutouts in the NCAA Tournament.
Ivory will stand guard behind a UVA defense headlined by senior Claire Constant and graduate student Lizzy Sieracki, who scored the game-winning goal against No.4 TCU in the NCAA quarterfinals last season to send UVA to the College Cup.
The Cavalier midfield is loaded with talent, including Lia Godfrey, who was the Freshman of the Year in the ACC and a second-team All-American a season ago and was named to the preseason All-ACC team along with senior Alexa Spaanstra, a three-time All-ACC performer. Haley Hopkins, a grad transfer from Vanderbilt, is a three-time All-SEC midfielder/forward combo that makes this group even more dangerous.
The UVA attack will once again be led by forwards Diana Ordonez and Rebecca Jarrett. Ordonez, who was named to the All-ACC second team last year, recorded 12 goals and five assists, including a hat trick in Virginia’s victory over Rice in the Sweet Sixteen. Jarrett had four goals and three assists a season ago and was also named to the All-ACC second team.
The Cavaliers are deep and experienced, with players such as grad student Taryn Torres, senior Sydney Zandi, and junior Emma Dawson having played significant roles for UVA in past seasons.
Schedule
Despite being ranked #4 nationally, Virginia was picked to finish third in the ACC standings this year, which just goes to show how competitive the ACC looks to be once again. The Cavaliers’ 18-game schedule includes matchups with a number of tough opponents, both in the ACC and in non-conference play.
UVA will begin their season on August 19th at Klockner Stadium against Richmond. Virginia will then travel to West Virginia on August 22nd to play the #12 Mountaineers for the third time in calendar year 2021, before playing at George Mason on August 26th. The Hoos will host George Washington on August 29th before traveling to Harrisonburg for the Fairfield Marriott Invitational tournament for a pair of games on the campus of JMU. Virginia will play against defending national champion Santa Clara on September 2nd and then against JMU on September 5th. The Cavaliers will wrap up non-conference play with two home games against #10 Penn State (Sept. 9) and Oklahoma (Sept. 12).
Virginia’s ACC slate includes four home games and six road games. Due to a scheduling conflict in 2017, UVA played six home games and four road games that season and so they will play less home games this year to compensate.
The Hoos will play at Wake Forest on September 17th before hosting #6 Duke on September 23rd. Virginia will then play four consecutive road games at NC State (Sept. 26), #3 North Carolina (Oct. 3), Boston College (Oct. 7), and Syracuse (Oct. 10). Their next three games are at home against Notre Dame (Oct. 17), Louisville (Oct. 21), and Miami (Oct. 24), before UVA travels to Florida State to play the No.1-ranked Seminoles on October 28th in the regular season finale.
Needless to say, this schedule is brutal. Ten of the 18 games on the schedule are on the road and six of the matches are against teams ranked in the top 12 of the preseason poll. Virginia head coach Steve Swanson put it best, saying, “We’re gonna find out where we are early, and we’re gonna find out where we are often.” The Cavaliers will certainly be tested in the regular season, but if this talented team can reach the College Cup battle-tested, they have as good a shot as any team in the country to bring home the title.