In one of the prettiest goals I have seen all year, the Virginia Cavaliers scored first this weekend against South Carolina, building on that lead to win 3-0 and advance to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament Round of 16. This marks the sixth consecutive season that the ‘Hoos have made it to the Round of 16, and will host Ohio State with an identical 15-4-2 records this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Second-seeded Virginia struck first in the 21st minute, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Sinead Farrelly made the goal thanks to a long pass from Chantel Jones and the subsequent header by Meghan Lenczyk.
"Once we took the lead, it forced them to come out and put more pressure on us," said head coach Steve Swanson. "That opened up more space in behind for us to take advantage of, and we were able to get a couple more in the second half."
Virginia had an impressive showing on Sunday, outshooting the Gamecocks 18-4 and holding a 6-0 edge in corner kicks.
Ohio State is seeded third in the tournament. In the only other meeting between the two teams in 2003, Ohio State defeated Virginia 1-0.
Here are video highlights from Sunday’s contest against the Gamecocks.