CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After holding Virginia scoreless for 84 minutes that included holding off 10 shot attempts, a late goal by the Cavaliers sealed a 1-0 loss for Clemson as the Tigers dropped their final road match of the regular season on Friday night. The Tigers moved to 6-8-2 (2-7-0 ACC) while the Cavaliers improved to 11-5-0 (4-5-0 ACC).
“It was a very good performance by our team today,” said Head Coach Eddie Radwanski. We played very disciplined. Sometimes that’s how the game goes, and the result doesn’t go in your favor. I feel bad for the players because they did enough to deserve a result out of the game, but the times where we had possession and where we advanced the ball up the field, showed that we have composure. Our defensive discipline was also top notch. I enjoyed what our team was able to do on the field today. It was an excellent performance by our group.”
The first half was quiet for both sides as neither capitalized on any shot opportunities. The Tigers defense allowed minimal chances for Virginia, as Clemson pushed to keep the ball from getting past goalkeeper Abby Holgorsen. The Tigers’ backline allowed only five shots to be attempted, with only one on goal that Holgorsen saved.
In the second half, the Tigers applied more pressure as they were able to find and maintain possession of the ball to create better opportunities to score. After putting up a defensive battle, the Cavaliers capitalized on a goal in the 85th minute as Lia Godfrey found the back of the net off a corner to secure the 1-0 victory for Virginia.
The Tigers’ offense put themselves in position to score multiple times after attempting seven total shots, two on goal, against the Cavaliers but were ultimately unable to get on the board.
Clemson’s Holgorsen allowed only one goal and picked up two saves on the night to bring her season total to 16.
Up next, the Tigers will wrap up the regular season slate by hosting Louisville at Historic Riggs Field for their final match at home on October 31. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ACCNX.
In honor of the final match being played on Halloween, all the Clemson women’s teams will be passing out candy pregame as there will be games and other fun activities. There will be a halftime raffle, to be entered into the raffle you must visit each team’s table and receive a stamp on a Halloweeen themed passport which they can turn in at the marketing table.