Rams fall to the Cavaliers, 1-0

Hayden Braun, Contributing Writer

VCU women’s soccer suffered a 1-0 loss to the No. 4 ranked UVA Cavaliers on Sept. 5 at home, according to ESPN. 

VCU’s third-year forward Kendyl Sarver suffered a non-contact injury within the first seven minutes of the game. She ended up sidelined on crutches for the remainder of the game.

The Rams only allowed the Cavaliers one shot on goal the entire first half. Prior to this game, UVA averaged about 16 shots on goal per game this season, according to the NCAA.

VCU fifth-year defender Natalia Santangelo contributed to the first-half shutout, even managing to take the only shot on goal for VCU in the first half.

“We caught them on their heels a couple times, and defensively, we were locked down the whole entire game,” Santangelo said.

VCU was outshot 11-3 by the end of the game, but only allowed one goal, according to StatBroadcast.

“We felt good about what we did in the first half, we were expecting them to be a bit more creative and dynamic in the second half with regards to their game plan,” VCU head coach Lindsey Martin said. “I think that we frustrated them a little bit, understandably so with how we were playing in a mid-block.” 

VCU fourth-year goalkeeper Allison Karpovich contributed to VCU’s successes with four saves and only one goal allowed, according to StatBroadcast. UVA’s one goal occurred at the 76-minute mark by third-year forward Maggie Cagle, according to StatBroadcast.

Karpovich said she saw a lot of positives out on the field. 

“Just a lot of hard work for my teammates. I’m working hard for them, and they’re working hard for me, and we’re trying to grow,” Karpovich said. “We’re getting better, and we’re on the way up.”

Martin and the team had positive outlooks on the results of the game despite the loss.

“I think our kids tonight were so coachable and adaptable, tough to give up the one after that type of effort, but we certainly learned a lot about ourselves positively tonight,” Martin said.

Santangelo said VCU looked like a different team during the game. 

“It was just amazing, seeing how hard we work together,” Santangelo said. “I was telling everybody before this game, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It really showed out there, we gained so much knowledge from each other and really trusted each other defensively and offensively.”

VCU will face the University of North Carolina Wilmington on Thursday, Sept. 12 at Sports Backers Stadium at 6 p.m.