Virginia women’s soccer makes College Cup with 1-0 win over 4-seed TCU

Redshirt senior defender Lizzy Sieracki picked an outstanding time to knock home the first goal of the season. Tied 0-0 in the second half of the Cavaliers’ quarterfinal game against No. 4 seed TCU, Sieracki made the trek forward from the defensive end of the field as Virginia prepared to take one of their four corner kicks. She got a head on the ball as it came into the box, sending it past the 2020 Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year in Emily Alvarado.

With the win, Virginia moves on to face No. 1 seed Florida State in the College Cup. It’s the fourth College Cup appearance for the Hoos, and the first since 2014. Florida State took out fellow ACC team Duke in penalty kicks to advance to the tournament semifinals.

After the goal in the 60th minute, Virginia held off the pesky Horned Frogs despite several good looks. There was a close call on a would-be equalizer, but it ricocheted off of the crossbar in front of the goal line, and Virginia keeper Laurel Ivory was able to corral the ball. Ivory and the Wahoo defense recorded their third straight shutout in the NCAA tournament, holding TCU to just two shots on goal and five shots total.

Virginia controlled the pace early, dominating the possession and keeping pressure on the TCU defense. The Cavaliers were unable to find the back of the net, sending both teams into the halftime break tied 0-0.

Rebecca Jarrett got four shots off in the game, with Diana Ordoñez — the hero from Virginia’s win over BYU — took three, but it was the strike from Sieracki that made the difference.

We were within one game of having an all-ACC College Cup, which would have been the first time all four final teams were from one conference, but Clemson fell to Santa Clara. North Carolina, the tournament six-seed, will play the Broncos in the other semifinal game. The semifinals will take place May 13 and times are still to be determined.