While most of the Virginia sports world was still trying to sort out what exactly happened last night in Tallahassee, the Virginia Women's Soccer team had business to take care of. They're in the hunt for a national title. And today, that challenge came in the form of the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.
One month ago to the day, the Cavaliers handed the Hokies their worst loss of the season, a 4-0 pummeling that was televised by Fox Sports.Or at least, it was their worst loss. Now its just tied for their worst loss, as Virginia again blanked the Hokies 4-0 en route to a quarterfinal appearance. It is the first time in six years that the Cavaliers have reached the quarterfinals.
Senior Lauren Alwine got the scoring going in the 28th minute as Morgan Brian took an Erica Hollenberg cross and found Alwine in front of the net. Junior Julia Roberts scored just two minutes later as she notched her fourth goal on a direct kick this season. You really should watch Roberts take those direct kicks. It's impressive and almost always has a shot at being a goal.
Brian finished off the scoring in the first half in the 31st minute when she took a Molly Menchel cross and put it on net. She would also finish off the scoring overall when she scored her 11th goal of the season in the 72nd minute. Hollenberg sent Alwine's cross to Brian who found twine for the second time in the game.
Once again, the Cavaliers were dominant in the shots category, holding a 22-5 advantage in that statistic. They also held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. It was the Cavaliers' 14th shutout of the season. They have yet to allow a goal in the NCAA tournament.
Virginia will now travel to Tallahassee next weekend to take on Florida State. Date and time is still to be determined. The Cavaliers beat the Seminoles 4-3 in overtime back on October 8th and then lost 1-2 on November 4th in the ACC tournament. Florida State went on to win the ACC Championship.