The No. 8 Virginia women’s soccer team wrapped up the regular season on a high note Thursday with a 1-0 win over Miami at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Fla.
“It was a good win tonight,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “Miami is a very organized, well-coached team and this is a difficult place to get a result.”
Alexa Spaanstra continued her recent strong run of form by scoring the lone goal of the game in the first half for the Cavaliers, who finished the regular season with a 13-2-3 overall record and a 6-2-2 mark against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.
Just 11:54 into the match, the ball landed at Spaanstra’s feet just outside the box and the senior fired a screamer past Miami goalkeeper Melissa Dagenais to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.
“We had a good start to the game thanks to just an unreal strike from Alexa,” Swanson said.
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It was Spaanstra’s sixth goal of the season and her second consecutive match with a goal. She was coming off a brace and an assist for a career-high five points in the Cavaliers’ win over N.C. State on Sunday.
Spaanstra now has 35 career goals to tie for 10th all-time at UVa and her 104 points ranks sixth all-time.
The goal was enough for the Virginia defense, which delivered its third straight shutout. Cavaliers goalkeeper Cayla White posted her eighth clean sheet of the season and is now 10-2-3 on the season.
“The team collectively did well to get the shutout,” Swanson said.
Virginia has now won five straight against Miami (5-8-3, 2-7-1 ACC) and is 5-2-0 at Cobb Stadium. The Cavaliers lead the series with the Hurricanes 15-2-1.
The Cavaliers now turn their attention to the ACC Tournament, which begins Sunday.
“We are happy to finish conference play with a win and look forward to the ACC tournament,” Swanson said.
