Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW): Another week of September is already gone, and conference play has begun for most major sports on Grounds in the NCAA Fall 2024 season!  This past week saw tough first losses for some teams, timely rebounds of others, and more spectacular athletic achievements throughout UVA athletics.   

We begin at Scott Stadium with the renewal of an old ACC Football rivalry.  The Maryland Terapins came to Charlottesville to battle the Cavaliers in a matchup between the ACC and the Big 10 for a sizable portion of bragging rights.  Despite a strong start and another Anthony Colandrea rushing touchdown, the Hoos came up short in the second half and suffered their first loss of the 2024 season.   You can find Cavalier Countdown host and Virginia Sports Network Football reporter Jay James’s full recap of the game HERE.  The Hoos will look to rebound on the road against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina next week on Saturday September 21st at 2:00 PM.  Coastal Carolina is 3-0 on the year, coming off a 28-20 victory over the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.  This is the first ever meeting between these two teams in Football.   

As for the other kind of Football, the UVA Women’s Soccer team entered play on Thursday for their first ACC match with Miami 7-0 and ranked #4 in the nation.  The Hoos have not struggled for goals in the early going through their season, and Thursday was no different.  After a shot from Miami attacker Adrianna Serna was parried away, UVA turned it around thanks to Alexis Theoret, who served a free kick into the box Allie Ross to get her head to the ball into the back of the net.  Victoria Safradin bravely commanded the Wahoo defense for most of the first half and kept the Miami attack at bay, until the 42nd minute, when Crosby Nicholson made use of great service from Tori Grambo to tie the game at one.  The Hoos stayed resilient in attack, keeping calm and staying creative and that paid dividends in the 76th minute of the match.  Freshman Sophia Bradley flew down the left wing, cut inside the Miami box, and forced a save out of Miami keeper Gray Wilson, only for Allie Ross to send the deflection barreling into the twine for the go-ahead goal UVA was looking for.  Alexis Theoret notched her second assist in the game two minutes later on another free kick, this time tapped in by Tatum Galvin, that put the game away.  The Hoos left Florida 3-1 winners, and owners of an 8-0 record.  They returned home for a Sunday kickoff with another ACC foe in the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, as the #2 ranked team in the USA.  However, it would be Wake who brought the freight train to a halt after eight wins and zero defeats.  The Deacs put three goals past Victoria Safradin and the UVA backline, all in the first half, to bring the Hoos’ record to 8-1.  ACC play rolls on for the Hoos as they play at home this Saturday 9/21 at 7:00 PM against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  The Irish have not looked back since their opening when they fell to Michigan State.  That defeat was followed by six straight wins and most recently, a draw with Boston College.  But they will look to get back to winning ways against the #2 ranked Hoos this Saturday.   

The UVA Men’s Soccer team also took on Wake Forest this weekend.  The Hoos took to the pitch in Winston Salem this past Friday looking to rebound after a tough loss to Duke, in which the only score of the game was a UVA own goal.  After a tough series of matches for UVA attackers, it only took five minutes for the Hoos to find their rhythm, as defender Paul Wiese sent an inch-perfect cross over the face of goal right to Reese Miller, who slotted in the first goal of the match.  As the first half wore on between two sides giving all possible effort to earn all three points, it became clear that this match was going to be played with the most cleanliness.  The Hoos earned a chance to double their lead in the 34th minute, when Drew Serafino was cut down after a scintillating move to get past the Wake Forest back line, earning a penalty.  Sadly, Nick Dang hit the ball hard, but Trace Alphin was up to the challenge in goal for the home side.  The UVA defense, led by Joey Batrouni in goal, had an excellent match, with keeper notching five saves in the second 45 minutes.  However, despite the saves, and excellent attacking pressure, one good chance robbed the Hoos of two important points, as a staggering set-piece effort courtesy of Cooper Flax found the back of the Virginia net from 25 yards out.  Ten yellow cards later, the match ended 1-1.  The Cavaliers will head to the West Coast this weekend for a Friday kickoff with the Golden Bears of California.  The match begins at 7:00 PM eastern time.  The Bears are looking to get control of the season before it gets away from them, sitting at 2-4 at the time of writing before they play Dominican this evening in Berkeley.   

UVA Field Hockey was in College Park, Maryland this past weekend for two games, against the #5 team in the nation, the Maryland Terapins, and the American University Eagles.  The battle between #3 and #5 lived up to its billing.  Neither team managed a shot on goal in the first period.  There were three total shots in the second period (two from UVA, one from UMD), just two shots (both from UMD), in the third, and as the fourth period began, the score remained tied at zero.  Finally, as the fourth began, a long pass from Jans Croon forced a save from Maryland’s keeper, but the deflection fell to Suze Leemans, and the veteran rattled the twine for the first, and only, goal of the game.  The UVA midfield and defense, excellent all game, battened down the hatches, and saw out the rest of the period to win the game 1-0.   The Hoos began Sunday strong with a pair of shots in the first period against the American University Eagles, but ultimately, as the first half neared its end, it was Rebecca Bonness who put the Hoos behind early in the first period.  With thirty seconds left in the first half though, Mia Abello found the back of the net for UVA to knot the game up going into the interval.  Emma Watchilla for the Hoos, and Jordan Reicher for the Eagles both scored in the second half to end regulation with both teams tied at two.  Fortunately for the Hoos, an early move from Dani Mendez-Trendler got the better of American keeper Bryn Underwood seven minutes into overtime to win the game for UVA.  The Hoos will be back in action for their ACC opener against California this Friday, September 20th at home.  The match begins at 6:00 PM. Stanford will be up next on Sunday, also in Charlottesville, for a 1:00 PM match.  Cal remains undefeated coming off a 2-0 victory against UC Davis, and Stanford are 4-1 heading into a Wednesday battle with Bellarmine. 

UVA Volleyball were in Lynchburg over the weekend, winning three hard-fought victories over West Virginia, ETSU, and the hosts, Liberty.  In their first match, against ETSU, it was night and day for the Hoos, featuring a tightly contested first half in which both teams won one set, but UVA came out out of the interval flying and dominated the last two sets to win the match (25-22, 15-25, 25-13, 25-18). In the matinee on Friday, the Mountaineers set the tone early with a 21-15 lead, but the Hoos fought back to knot the set up at 24, but six kills from Lauryn Bowie was not enough to get them over the top in the first set, ultimately falling to their opponents 31-29.  Bowie was far from done, she finished with 14 kills as the Hoos won the next three sets to achieve victory in the match (25-16, 25-21, 25-19).  The Flames were the Hoos’ final opponent of the weekend, and it proved one of the most tightly contested battles of the tournament.  Virginia won the first two sets, (25-16, 25-19) thanks in particular to excellent performances from Brooklyn Borum and Abby Tadder.  The Flames chose the right moment in set three to go on a run, after they tied the set at 19, they outscored the Hoos 6-3 to make it two sets to one with a (25-22) victory.  The Cavaliers then went on a timely run in the fourth set.  With the score at 21-18, they Hoos rattled off four unanswered to take the lead.  Liberty then tied it at 23, but Kate Dean, who finished with 13 blocks, notched six in the match, and was instrumental in putting the Hoos over the top to win set four (25-23).    UVA flew across the line with a (15-9) victory in the fifth set to finish the tournament with three match victories.  Volleyball’s next action will be a pair of mid-week battles with Middle Tennessee at home in Memorial Gymnasium on September 24th and 25th at 6:30 PM. Tickets are free, and the matches will be broadcast on ACCNX if you cannot make it out to the gym.  Middle Tennessee is 3-5 at the time of writing. 

UVA’s Cross-Country teams, entering the weekend ranked, took off at the Virginia Invitational in Earlysville for their first home meets of the year on Saturday.  Both squads, the #23 men, and #17 women, saw their respective fastest runners across the line very quickly, battling with elite runners throughout the field.  Justin Wachtel, in the Men’s 8K, finished second with a time of 24:02.3, falling to Ethan Strand of UNC, the race-winner on 23:49.8.  In the Women’s 5K, Gillian Bushee placed third for UVA on a time of 16:42.0, with teammate Jenny Schilling not far behind on 16:44.3.  Both the Men’s and Women’s meets were won by UNC. 

Men’s golf was in action last week at the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio, and started their season off right, placing 1st of 14 squads on both days of the tournament.  They will be in Texas next weekend at the Valero Texas Collegiate in San Antonio, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.   

Lastly, both the Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams will have their first matches of the fall.  The men head to Tulsa, and the women to Chapel Hill, for ITA All-American matches.  This will be the first opportunity for players to qualify for the NCAA Singles and Doubles championships, which will be held in November for the first time.   

That brings your rundown to a close for this week!  Take every opportunity that you can to support your Hoos.  Also. tune in to Best Seat in the House every weekday from 5-7 PM for up-to-date analysis on the whole of UVA athletics.  Go Hoos!