Six weeks ago, the Maryland Terrapins Women's Soccer team came to Charlottesville ranked sixth in the country and faced the 14th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at Klöckner Stadium. They left that night with a 4-1 loss.
Today, the rankings were nearly reversed. The Cavaliers were the fifth-ranked team in the country while the Terps were #16. But one thing that wasn't reversed was the result. On a chilly Sunday afternoon at Klöckner, the Cavaliers downed the Terps for the second time this season, this time by a 2-0 margin.
Playing in the quarterfinals of the 2011 ACC Championships, the #2 seed Cavaliers controlled the ball and the tempo for most of the game. They outshot the #7 seed Terrapins 10-2 in the first half and 8-2 in the second half. They had a 9-1 advantage on corner kicks. And, of course, the all-important 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
Sophomore Molly Menchel scored first for the Cavaliers in the 29th minute. Her goal was a beautiful one timer to the upper left corner of the net. Senior Amanda Fancher got credit for the assist as she sent the ball across the front of the net and a Maryland defender deflected it out to the top of the box where Menchel was waiting. Her strike squeaked past the diving Terrpain goalkeeper and into the net.
Gloria Douglas got the second goal of the afternoon, slipping the ball between the attacking goalie and the right post in the 83rd minute to give the Cavaliers the final margin. Golden girl Caroline Miller got the assist on the play as she sent the ball ahead of the attacking Douglas who just barely escaped being flagged for an offsides penalty.
Virginia will now face the #6 seed Florida State Seminoles. The Seminoles defeated #3 seed North Carolina 1-0 in overtime today. It was the Tar Heel's second consecutive overtime loss. Virginia defeated Florida State 4-3 in overtime about three weeks ago. The semifinals match between the Cavaliers and Seminoles will be held at 7:30pm this Friday at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C. If Virginia wins, they'll play in the championship game on Sunday at 1pm.