Soccer Falls to No. 9 Virginia 3-0

CORAL GABLES, Fla. –The Miami Hurricanes resumed their home slate Thursday at Cobb Stadium, fallingto the ninth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers by a final score of 3-0.

The Hurricanes, whoentered the contest fresh off a 2-0 victory on the road at Clemson, fell behindby two goals at halftime and were unable to recover. The Cavaliers(11-3-1, 4-2-1 ACC) tacked on another goal in the second half to seal thevictory.

“We’re disappointed because we didn’t try hard enough,” head coach Tom Anagnost said. “As a coach, it’s extraordinarily disappointing.”

Playing without leadinggoalscorer Kate Howarth, Miami (7-6-1, 2-4 ACC) threatened but was unable toconvert in the early going. After falling behind 1-0 in the 20th minute on astrike from Cavalier senior Caroline Miller, the Hurricanes strung together asequence of shots from freshman Jasmine Paterson and junior Tara Schwitter butwere unable to find the net.

“This team completely pinned us in last year, they completely overwhelmed us,” Anagnost added. “This game was far more even, though the score was worse.”

One of the Canes’ mostthreatening opportunities of the first half was a free kick strike fromsophomore goalkeeper Emily Lillard from 35 yards out, which forced Virginia keeperDanielle DeLisle to leap and push just over the bar.

After Miller tacked onanother in the middle of the second half, the Canes nearly got one back on abeautifully struck corner kick from Schwitter. Paterson, on the doorstep of theCavaliers’ goal, connected on a header that bounced to the ground and just overthe bar.

“They were very, very crisp and efficient in front of the goal. I don’t know how many of their shots went on target, but they scored good goals,” Anagnost said. “I have to give them a lot of credit. They deserved the result.”

The Hurricanes return toaction Sunday against Virginia Tech. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from CobbStadium.