After a slate of ACC losses, the Eagles have traded the losses in for a series of three straight 1-1 ties, this time tying Virginia 1-1 in Charlottesville on Sunday afternoon. Aislin Streicek opened the scoring for the Eagles, while Meredith McDermott scored the tying goal for the Cavaliers.
Per the trend of the past three games, the Eagles struck first with Aislin Streicek finding the back of the net in the 50th minute. Laura Gouvin found Streicek on the run and sprung the winger, who took the ball straight down the center towards the Cavaliers goal. With a step between her and the defender, Streicek only had to beat the Virginia goalkeeper, Cayla White, who had come off her line to try and stop Streicek. Instead, the winger took a touch past her before firing the ball back across her body with her left foot to send it into the Cavaliers goal and give the Eagles the one goal lead.
The Cavaliers didn’t wait long to answer, tying the game up in the 61st minute. Meredith McDermott received the ball on the dribble with a pass from Maggie Cagle. The Cavaliers forward cut past her Eagles defender with a step, sending her the wrong way and creating space. Then McDermott turned, finding the near post and slotting the ball home. The goal was McDermott’s seventh of the season and tied the score 1-1, with Cagle receiving an assist on the play. The Eagles scoring first only to concede has been a recurring pattern in each of their three ACC ties so far.
Not to say the Eagles didn’t have their chances to win the game: with three minutes left in the second half, the Eagles found space on the left side and took off. A give and go found the ball at Ella Richard’s feet in the center of the box, leaving the Cavaliers defense scrambling. Instead of taking the shot though, Richards opted to pass, sending the ball further to the right to the feet of Reilly Johnson. The extra pass let the Cavaliers defense get set and Johnson’s shot was blocked, ending the opportunity for the Eagles.
It was a game where the Eagles defense bent, but didn’t break, conceding 11 corners in all. The fans at Klöckner stadium rattled the bleachers for each one, creating a noisy atmosphere, but the corners themselves proved easy for the defense to handle. Despite shaky moments, especially early on when Wiebke Willebrandt came out of her box to try and play the ball, only to have it bounce past her. Luckily, Claire Mensi was behind her, able to clear the ball safely out of danger. Despite moments of individual errors, as a whole, the backline covered for each other and prevented the Cavaliers from scoring early.
While both teams generated chances, the Eagles weren’t lethal in the final third, with only three of their nine shots ending up on net. Preferring to utilize Sydney Segalla’s speed on the wing as a contrast to Streicek’s dribbling on the other side, the Eagles use Gouvin’s dribbling to keep control of the middle of the field while preferring to pass wide. The strategy works well, with Gouvin’s distribution pairing with Mensi’s ability to pass the occasional long ball to keep the opposition’s defense honest.
The Eagles balanced a high backline in an attempt to keep possession with the Cavaliers desire to spring the ball over the top, only finding the right balance late in the second half as the game opened up. With both teams pushing to find the winning goal, space opened up in front of the defense, as the Cavaliers opted for shorter passes on the ground to try and pass their way around the Eagles defense. Stepping to the Cavaliers allowed the Eagles to push forward and regain possession sooner, without starting in their own box.
The final game for the Eagles (3-9-5) is against no.3 UNC (10-0-7) at home in Newton at 7:00 pm on Thursday, October 27th. The theme is costume party and the game is sure to be spooky as the winless in the ACC Eagles attempt to take down the undefeated Tar Heels to secure their first ACC win.
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