BLACKSBURG, Virginia – An early goal from Meredith McDermott held up on Halloween night as Virginia (12-5-0, 5-5-0 ACC) took the road and blanked No. 12 Virginia Tech (11-4-3, 6-2- 2 ACC) by a score of 1-0 at Thompson Field, Thursday, October 31.

With the win, the Cavaliers picked up a point in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash and Virginia leads the Commonwealth Clash 2.0 to 0.0 this season.

GOALS
12′ – UVA: Meredith McDermott (Lia Godfrey)

HOW THIS HAPPENED
The Hoos struck early with a corner goal in the 12th minute. Two deflected shots, the second going beyond the baseline, created a corner on the right side for Virginia. Lia Godfrey lifted the corner into the middle of the six where McDermott volleyed it in to take a 1-0 lead.

PLAY NOTES

• Virginia now leads the series with Virginia Tech 24-4-2 and leads 7-2-2 in games played in Blacksburg.
• UVA has shut out Virginia Tech in back-to-back meetings and in 10 of the last 13 contests.
• Meredith McDermott’s goal was her fifth of the season and fourth game-winning goal this year.
• Lia Godfrey’s assist on McDermott’s goal was her ninth career assist.
• Victoria Safradin posted her sixth clean sheet of the season and posted back-to-back clean sheets.

FROM HEAD COACH STEVE SWANSON
“I’m really proud of our efforts. It’s always going to be a battle, especially here at Virginia Tech. We have a lot of respect for their team and we knew we were going to have to play 90 minutes. The first half went well for us. In the second half they changed shape a bit and we knew they were going to press hard; we resisted a little. It’s a good win and it gives us new momentum for the playoffs.

THE SHOCK OF THE COMMONWEALTH

• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sport points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy awarded to the winner. school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
• The Cavaliers currently lead the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash 2-0 after the Virginia men’s soccer team defeated Virginia Tech 2-1 earlier this month in Charlottesville.
• Virginia won the competition in 2023-24 by a margin of 15-7.

TO FOLLOW FOR HOOS
Virginia will now wait for the NCAA Tournament bracket to be announced with the selection show on Monday, November 11.