Virginia has only faced High Point once before, also in the first round of the NCAA tourney.  The result was similar as the Cavs have now put 14 goals past the Panthers in those two games.  I’m sure it was a dispiriting end to a fine season for Brandi Fontaine’s crew.

Virginia         6
High Point    0

Let’s just get the goals out of the way:

12^th Minute – High Point Own Goal
17^th Minute – Sydney Zandi (unassisted)
20^th Minute – Alexis Theoret (Laney Rouse)
41^st Minute –  Sarah Brunner (Brianna Jablonowski)
60^th Minute – Diana Ordoñez (Haley Hopkins)
71^st Minute –  Kira Maguire (Emma Dawson)

High Point was never in the game.  By my count, it took almost 30 minutes for the Panthers to complete their 10^th pass in Virginia’s half and probably seven of those were because they kicked off four times and they’d been spotted the ball right at midfield.

Virginia got their first two good chances about 9 and 10 minutes into the game when, first, Alexis Theoret struck a cross that would have made Courtney Petersen proud, to Diana Ordonez.  She missed.  Ordonez is a fine striker, and she’d go one to score her 16^th goal of the season, but she squanders a lot of good chances.

A minute later, Laney Rouse beat her defender to the end line and lined up Haley Hopkins whose subsequent shot lacked any real power.  I’ve thought that Rouse is the weak link on the team, wishing that coach Steve Swanson would start either Lizzie Sieracki or Sarah Clark ahead of her.  But on this day, she channeled her inner Samar Guidry and she was an absolute terror down the right side.  Freed from any real defensive responsibilities she was free to attack and overlap all game long.  And she would get an assist on Theoret’s goal.

Other than the Hopkins-to-Ordonez goal, the rest of the goal scoring came not from the usual suspects.  Sarah Brunner and Kira Maguire scored their first ever goals as Cavaliers, while Emma Dawson and Brianna Jablonowski recorded their first assists while wearing Virginia’s colors.  Zandi’s goal was only her second of the year and Rouse’s assist was likewise her second assist of the fall.  From a fan’s perspective, it was heartwarming to see everyone get involved.  For the record, 16 different women have scored for Virginia this year, which ties the program high set in 2014 and matched in 2018.

HIGHLIGHTS | The Hoos got first career goals from Sarah Brunner and Kira Maguire on the way to a 6-0 victory over High Point in the NCAA Tournament opener.#GoHoos ?⚔️? | #ALLIN ⚽️? pic.twitter.com/fwG2uoecI7

— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) November 13, 2021

There was one interesting tactical note, to the game.  Virginia dumped in a lot of crosses this game and it must have come from Swanson.  It wouldn’t surprise me if speculative crosses into the box numbered 25.  It’s an important weapon in any team’s arsenal, but crosses like this are wasteful, which is why they’ve gone out of favor in the modern game.  Even a totally outmatched team like High Point can be successful defensively in that particular mode.  And Virginia kept crossing even when Hopkins and Ordonez were sitting.

Injury Watch:  Samar Guidry started and played her usual minutes.  After missing two games and then coming off the bench for the last two games, this was a welcome development.

Lia Godfrey did not play.  The ACC Network deployed just a single television camera (though there was one goal reviewed under VAR, so maybe there were additional cameras) so I was unable to see the Virginia bench.

Lacey McCormack did not play.  She’s played in the last four games and has been the player trusted to spell either Claire Constant or Talia Staude over the second half of the season.  But she was a no-show on this day.

Next Up:  Virginia will host Milwaukee, 1 – 0 victor over Xavier this Friday, November 19^th.  Game time to be determined.