CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Syracuse women’s soccer team made its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) debut Thursday, Sept. 12 at No. 2/2 Virginia. The Cavaliers netted two goals in the first half and posted its fourth consecutive shutout in a 3-0 victory against the Orange.

“Virginia is the best team we’ve played in my tenure at Syracuse,” said Orange head coach Phil Wheddon. “They are a very talented, dynamic team. When you lose to a team that plays soccer like that, you have to congratulate them. But I’m proud of our players. We had a game plan and we stuck to it. We were organized and we fought for everything.”

The Cavaliers (7-0, 1-0) outshot the Orange, 5-1, in the first 30 minutes of play, but couldn’t put any of its shots on goal. Junior Alexis Koval (Syracuse, N.Y.) had Syracuse’s (4-3, 0-1) first scoring opportunity of the game, which was saved by Morgan Stearns. Virginia then scored on two of its next three shots.

Makenzy Doniak netted her fifth goal of the season on an assist from Morgan Brian in the 32nd minute. The Cavaliers increased their lead five minutes later when Alexis Shaffer scored from eight yards out on a give and go from Brittany Ratcliffe. The Orange increased the offensive pressure in the final five minutes of the first half. Freshman Stephanie Skilton (Auckland, New Zealand) recorded back-to-back shots. The first went wide and the second was saved by UVa goalkeeper Morgan Stearns. The Orange earned its first corner of the game in the 41st minute, but couldn’t convert and trailed 2-0 at intermission.

“We had two or three quality scoring opportunities in the first half, which we’d like to have back,” Wheddon said. “There were times in the first half where we struggled to keep possession. Our passing was not as good as it usually is, partly because of the Virginia pressure. We had no time on the ball. It’s something we need to learn from and be able to adjust to.”

Virginia continued to apply offensive pressure in the second half, posting three shots in the first 15 minutes of action, and found the back of the net again in the 69th minute. Ratcliffe scored her sixth goal of the season from six yards out on assists from Doniak and Brian for the 3-0 final.

The Cavaliers finished the game with 16 shots to four for the Orange. Syracuse successfully defended against eight corner kicks by Virginia, while earning three of its own. SU goalkeeper Brittany Anghel (East Meadow, N.Y.) recorded one save, while Stearns finished with three.

“Moving ahead we have to correct our passing and not give the ball away and we have to put away our opportunities,” Wheddon said.

Syracuse’s road trip continues Sunday when it takes on --/22 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 12 p.m.

“We will face a very good team on Sunday,” Wheddon said of the Hokies, which lost 2-1 to No. 1/1 North Carolina on Thursday night. “Hopefully we can learn from this game and make sure we move the ball quickly in our two-touch system and capitalize on the scoring chances we have.”

AGATE
  1st 2nd Final
Syracuse  0 0 0
Virginia  2 1 3

Scoring:
32:09 UVa Makenzy Doniak (Morgan Brian)
37:37 UVa Alexis Shaffer (Brittany Ratcliffe)
69:57 UVa Brittany Ratcliffe (Makenzy Doniak, Morgan Brian)

Shots: Virginia 16, Syracuse 4
Corner Kicks: Virginia 8, Syracuse 3
Saves: Syracuse 1 (Brittany Anghel), Virginia 3 (Morgan Stearns)

Attendance: 1,055