A day after Virginia was officially eliminated from the ACC tournament, the Clemson Tigers came to Klöckner Stadium even more desperate for a signature victory in the midst of a failed season. Last year, Clemson made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, but a rash of injuries, along with numerous senior attritions, left Clemson adrift this year. Clemson came out and parked the bus, hoping Kendall Bodak or Jenna Tobia could put a goal on the counter.

The Virginia Cavaliers, for their part, are still in sight of a possible NCAA bid. The Hoos have five losses this season, but they are against No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 4 UNC and No. 7 Notre Dame. Oh, and defending national champions and No. 17 Florida State. From a rankings perspective, none of these losses are bad.

Women’s soccer uses the widely discredited RPI (Rating Percentage Index), which includes a healthy dose of opponents’ winning percentage to determine how good teams are in conferences. So, schedule strength is still a feature, and because Virginia plays in the ACC, Virginia’s RPI is #12 in the country. In addition to these losses, Virginia has victories against:

Penn State: No. 15 in the poll and 6th in the RPI

SMU: 52nd in RPI

JMU: 53rd in RPI

Utah Valley: 61st in RPI

I thought Virginia’s season was essentially over, and yet here they are, still alive and kicking. Virginia head coach Steve Swanson knew this was a huge game and he went for the fences with his opening lineup. Knowing her team struggled to score in ACC play, Swanson lined up winger Maggie Cagle in the attacking midfielder role, which would allow her to start three attackers: Allie Ross, Meredith McDermott and Sophia Bradley . It seemed like a reasonable decision. I have long thought that Cagle is better suited to a more central role and that midfielders Lia Godfrey and Yuna McCormack should be able to lead a two-man midfield against a mediocre Clemson team.

For the most part, it worked in the first half. Cagle struggled to leave her mark on the game, but McCormack (who has a motor like Taryn Torres’) and Godfrey (who is still showing continued signs of improvement) held serve. Laney Rouse was particularly dangerous on the right flank and she was the more creative option for much of the half.

Virginia had about 58% possession in the first half, but gave no signs of hoping to break down Clemson’s entrenched defense.

The first half had not been an advertisement for “the great game”, and to open the second half, announcer Steve Foss felt that there should not have been “panic in the Virginia locker room” when the teams came out. Foss was right about one thing; the Cavaliers had certainly played without much urgency. The women had huffed and puffed on the field, but for the game I only took three pages of notes. (My game notes are usually 6-7 pages long.) I spent more time writing down my reactions to the yellow cards Godfrey and Cagle received than how the Hoos played. It was a rather lackluster performance.

With about 20 minutes left in the game, and possibly their season, could a team with a losing record actually qualify for the NCAAs? – the Cavaliers have finally found a fourth gear. In the 72nd minute, Ella Carter, who had been left out of the starting lineup for Cagle, moved to attacking midfielder, and who had not spent much time on the pitch because Swanson was playing striker Maya Carter in midfield. of land when he gave Godfrey. a break in the first half, latched onto a corner and slotted it home. The difficulty level was 10 and it was a great shot.

Laughlin Ryan, however, was offside and upon review of VAR it was determined that she was obstructing the goalkeeper’s view. Maybe I’m Homeric, but it seemed like a bad decision to me.

The women overcame disappointment, because that’s what they do, and found fifth gear, to the point where the winner seemed inevitable. And really, how many times have you felt that way since ACC play began? With four and a half minutes left, Tatum Galvin switched from his left to Rouse. The Tigers had given Rouse acres of space throughout the game, but this time she didn’t take it, instead opting for McDermott who had made a nice diagonal sideways run. McDermott turned and slipped a pass to Godfrey, who scored with aplomb. Avoiding Ella Carter’s cancellation, my eyes immediately went to the linesman, but all of the Tigers were behind Virginia’s attackers. 1-0 to Virginia and Clemson would no longer have possession in Virginia’s half.

For those scoring at home, it was Godfrey’s second goal of the season and his second fine strike from the left. This is just one of the many reasons why she is so sought after as a pro.

Following : With the win, Virginia improves to 11-5 on the season and 4-5 in the ACC. The women will play their final game on Halloween Thursday, heading to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech. It’s been a strange season for the Hokies. They are currently in fifth place in the ACC, so in contention to make the ACC Tournament, but they have only been able to get 0-0 draws with Miami and NC State, two teams tied for 14th. of the ACC. On the other hand, Tech had perhaps the most notable victory in ACC play this year, coming back against FSU to score three goals (a fourth was ruled offside) in the final 10 minutes and win 3-2.

An instant match against your biggest rival, with both teams depending a lot on the outcome? This is why we play games. We will learn a lot from both sides next Thursday.