STANFORD, Calif. – โA second-half surge from No. 7 Virginia Women’s Soccer proved insufficient as the Cavaliers fell to top-ranked Stanford, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon.Despite a determined comeback,โ Virginia’s season may not be over.
The Cavaliers now await the NCAAโค Tournament selection show on Monday,Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. โฃon NCAA.com to learn their seeding andโฃ postseasonโ fate. The loss concludes the regular season for Virginia, but an at-large bid to the NCAA โขTournament remains a strong possibility.
Stanford quickly established control, building a two-goal lead before โฃhalftime. Virginia responded after theโฃ break,โ fueled by a goalโ from Meredith McDermott, her third of the season. Theโฃ Cavaliers continued to press, narrowing the gap,โค but ultimately couldn’t overcome the early โฃdeficit.
“Congrats โto Stanford, they’re a good team,” said Virginia Head Coach Steve Swanson.โฃ “I thought we showed ourโฃ quality in the second half, but [we were] โฃdisappointed in the result of the first half. It really put us behind, obviously, but we showed a tremendous amount of heart coming back. โWe were knocking on the door forโ the third one. It’s โขtough to take.”
Swanson acknowledged the need for consistent performance. “We were good for 45 minutes, but โขat this level โand stage of theโ tournament you โขhave to be good โฃfor 90 minutes. Full marks to Stanford, โthey have a good team.I’m proud of our team โand thought they showed a โlot of heart in the second half.”
