After facing Florida State (twice) and Stanford (twice) in their last six games, the Virginia Cavaliers got a bit of a reprieve when the selection committee slotted them as the fourth #1 seed in the tournament.\u00a0 They would start out playing at home, for up to the first four rounds, and they would get one of the decided minnows of the tournament, in this case the Big South\u2019s Highpoint.<\/p>\n
Now, full credit to High Point.\u00a0 They had a remarkable turnaround to their season.\u00a0 After starting out the season 0 \u2013 8 \u2013 3 (and having gone an entire calendar month without scoring a goal) the Panthers got on a roll, winning three games in the Big South Tournament and taking down the #1 and #2 seeds in the process.\u00a0 Any coach, any player, any fan would be happy with that narrative.<\/p>\n
It just didn\u2019t do them any good against a rampant Cavalier team.\u00a0 This game wasn\u2019t close.\u00a0 Virginia got their first shot less than two minutes into the game \u2013 en route to 41 total shots for the game \u2013 and won their first corner, of 11 on the game, just 30 seconds later.<\/p>\n
It started up top as Meredith McDermott, continuing her \u201cresurgence\u201d since the ACC tournament, was pressing the High Point backline and looking very dangerous as her speed was targeted behind the High Point defense.\u00a0 Virginia also had a very specific tactical short corner kick that they wanted to work on, running the exact play four straight times.\u00a0 Head coach Steve Swanson has had the women playing more short corners this year than in recent memory, largely because the Hoos lack an aerial presence, and High Point was slow to react to the corners. \u00a0Thirteen minutes in, and just two minutes after they had tried the exact same play, Ella Carter scored this off the two-man game with Maggie Cagle.<\/p>\n
Ella Carter with the beautiful strike to get the scoring started against the Panthers!<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcfa ESPN+#GoHoos<\/a> | #ALLIN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/U528vQDJt7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Virginia Women’s Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) November 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n High Point had had a couple of moments of possession up to that point, but after the goal, the game was essentially over.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it was a tactical point of emphasis, or it could have been the gulf in capability between the two teams, but Virginia set up inside the box and we saw a season\u2019s worth of touches, one-twos and drop-offs inside the box.\u00a0 McDermott, especially, looked strong playing with her back to the goal and holding up play.\u00a0 Pearl Cecil and Carrie Helfrich both had shots blocked on the line, Liv Rademaker was living inside the box and Virginia was knocking on the door.<\/p>\n With nine minutes left in the half, Allie Ross finished off this combo play to make it 2 \u2013 0.\u00a0 Again, it was off a corner.\u00a0 And the game was essentially over.<\/p>\n Allie Ross with precision doubled the lead for the Hoos!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa ESPN+#GoHoos<\/a> | #ALLIN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/D7EZODFazL<\/a><\/p>\n