Virginia
The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Soccer Crashes out of NCAAs
Not all soccer fans may be aware of the +/- statistic used in basketball and hockey which records a team’s point differential when a player is on the floor compared with when she’s not. In theory, this is a clever way to measure not just a player’s scoring but something media types love: the so-called intangibles. This is a format I use for reporting on the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and I’m feeling punchy following the soccer team’s loss, so I’m going to apply it here.
Minus
It has now been four seasons since the Virginia women’s soccer team has advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. Just four years ago the women possessed the second longest streak of reaching the Sweet 16 (second only to UNC) but two seasons ago, the women lost in the opening round and last year the team was not invited to the tourney. And now a loss to a middling Wisconsin: a team like Virginia, which finished an underwhelming 9th in a power conference.
Plus
I’ll label my bias: I love PKs. Once a game hits overtime, I’m actively rooting for penalties. There is no more gut-wrenching cauldron in all of sport than PKs on a soccer pitch. I think it’s the walk. Players stand huddled at midfield and have to walk, by themselves, one by one, to the appointed penalty spot. Going from a constant-motion game like soccer to a static skill is jarring. Golfers have to make that walk all the time, but soccer players, not so much. The pressure is unbelievable.
Minus
Wisconsin’s Hailey Baumann sent Victoria Safradin the wrong way for the first penalty. Maggie Cagle took Virginia’s first and hit it pretty much straight down the middle for an easy save. Yuna McCormack and Lia Godfrey hit textbook pass-the-ball-into-the-side-netting shots, bringing up Linda Mittermair who pushed the ball wide left. Season over. Despite what I said about loving PKs, it is an anti-climactic way to end a season.
Minus
Head coach Steve Swanson had brought in Mittermair cold to take that penalty. She had not played a minute of the game’s 110 minutes. Every coach who has designs on playing in the NCAA Tournament knows that there will be no ties and that penalties loom on everyone’s horizon. Swanson has had all season to determine who his five best penalty takers are, and he must have settled on Mittermair at some point. But to expect her to take a penalty cold, to put her under that kind of pressure, well, that’s just coaching malfeasance.
Plus
After missing the last seven games, Alexis Theoret returned to the pitch in the second half and she logged 62 minutes. Theoret is my favorite Virginia player over the past decade and it has been a joy, and privilege to watch her. Unfortunately, she was not match fit and was not her usual forceful presence.
Minus
Chloe Japic did not play either of Virginia’s two NCAA games, and while inconclusive, I couldn’t see her on the sideline. I don’t know if her absence was disciplinary or due to injury, but she has been a versatile contributor to the team. On the bright side, Swanson may have found the replacement for Samar Guidry, who is graduating, in Laughlin Ryan who was solid in defense and adventurous in attack.
Minus
Virginia was called for offsides six times. That’s just a lack of situational awareness and it cost Virginia because four of those could have sprung a Virginia attacker for a dangerous opportunity.
Minus
Virginia sent way too many crosses into the box. For the most part, they were lovely balls, but this team doesn’t have anyone with the aerial presence of a Meg McCool, Diana Ordonez or Haley Hopkins. And because there was no commanding presence, every weak side runner crashed toward the penalty spot – as they should – but no one ever ran to the back of the box. At least four nice crosses went rolling wide, free for a Wisconsin defender to start the attack.
Plus
Defenders Kiki Maki and Moira Kelley put in lights-out shifts today. Wisconsin didn’t get a single shot on goal and the pair completely shut down Wisconsin’s best attacker, Aryssa Mahrt.
Minus
Virginia has struggled to play the ball out of the back all year. For the past two games Swanson has opted for a five-back defensive line, ostensibly to give the defenders more targets. It didn’t work, even against a decidedly average Wisconsin press. I personally think you need more targets in midfield. In any event, Yuna McCormack and Lia Godfrey weren’t able, by themselves, to control midfield. Virginia was so inept controlling the ball that on the second half kickoff, the Cavaliers possessed the ball for less than three seconds before Kelley hit the ball out of bounds in desperation.
Minus
Karma bit Maggie Cagle in the butt today. With three minutes left in the game, Cagle got the ball at the top of the box, turned two defenders and got baseline within the six-yard box. As she turned toward goal, she was brought down. She sold the foul hard but the referee’s initial call was not a penalty. Sure, the ref went to VAR for review, but given that the initial call was not a foul, there wasn’t enough evidence to rule for a penalty. Cagle has developed a penchant for embellishing her fouls as the season progressed, and on this night, the ref simply didn’t believe her. And it cost Virginia a chance for the win.
Plus… and Minus
For the most part, this was an uninspiring game and yet the announcers gave it their all. At one point when a Virginia player slipped trying to make a turn in the Wisconsin box, one announcer opined that “the pitch had gotten in her way.” I’ve watched a lot of soccer and never heard that turn of phrase.
But the announcer gave it away in overtime when he stated that “Virginia had a plethora of chances in a myriad of ways,” which is pretty close to word salad.
Plus
Three times the camera closeup on Wisconsin keeper Drew Stover showed her delivering no-look distributions to her teammates. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. That was pretty cool.
Next Up? Well, it’s been a pretty crummy mid-week for Virginia athletics. The women are out of the tournament and men’s basketball got hammered in two games in The Bahamas. I invite you to join me watching women’s basketball. The women play with a greater ferocity than do the men, and in Kymora Johnson, the women’s team has maybe the best player in the athletics department. You know, this side of the women’s swim and dive team. Next game is Sunday, November 24th. Game time is 4pm and is on the ACC Network.
Virginia
How to watch Louisville volleyball vs. Virginia (11/22/24) online without cable | FREE LIVE STREAM for ACC game
The No. 3 Louisville Cardinals volleyball team face the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 (11/22/24) in ACC play at in Charlottesville, Va.
How to watch: Fans can watch the game on ACCNX, or ACC Network Extra, a streaming-only service which is available through ACC Network authenticated subscribers, such as DirecTV Stream (watch with free trial) or fuboTV (watch with free trial).
If your TV provider includes the ACC Network, you already have access to ACCNX. You can view the ACCNX broadcast via the ESPN app or espn.com/watch using your TV provider credentials.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: ACC volleyball
Who: Louisville vs. Virginia
When: Friday, Nov. 22 (11/22/24)
Where:
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: N/A
Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)
***
Top 25 NCAA Volleyball Rankings
Games through Nov. 18, 2024
1, Pitt; 2, Nebraska; 3, Louisville; 4, Penn State; 5, Creighton; 6, Wisconsin; 7, Stanford; 8, Purdue; 9, Arizona State; 10, SMU; 11, Kansas; 12, Kentucky; 13, Oregon; 14, Texas; 15, Georgia Tech; 16, Minnesota; 17, Baylor; 18, Dayton; 19, Utah; 20, Florida; 21, Southern California; 22, TCU; 23, Florida State; 24, BYU; 25, Missouri.
***
Here are the best streaming options for college sports this season:
Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS.
DirecTV Stream (free trial): DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS.
Sling TV – Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC.
ESPN+ ($9.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college football games each weekend for only $9.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform.
Peacock TV ($5.99 a month): Peacock will simulstream all of NBC Sports’ college football games airing on the NBC broadcast network this season, including Big Ten Saturday Night. Peacock will also stream Notre Dame home games. Certain games will be streamed exclusively on Peacock this year as well.
Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year.
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RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will be windy and cold with highs in the 40s and wind chills in the 20s and 30s. A few scattered showers will be around, especially later in the day. Rain chances will be higher north of I-64, where some wet flakes could mix in. Wind gusts over 30 mph are possible.
For those traveling, the mountains of West Virginia will see significant snowfall over the next 48 hours, with one to two feet possible in the highest elevations. The Virginia panhandle will pick up a few inches of snow.
Saturday will be breezy with highs in the upper 50s to 60. Sunday will be mostly sunny with highs in the lower 60s.
Monday will be mostly sunny with highs in the low to mid-60s.
A cold front will move through Tuesday morning with the slight chance of a shower.
Wednesday will be cooler with increasing clouds. Highs will be in the lower 50s.
As of now, it looks like a storm system will bring some rain into the area Wednesday night into Thursday.
Stay With CBS 6, The Weather Authority.
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WTVR
Virginia and SMU will meet for the first time ever on Saturday at Scott Stadium, finally clashing on the gridiron nearly three years after the two programs were supposed to face each other in the Fenway Bowl at the end of the 2021 season. There is plenty at stake in this one, as the13th-ranked Mustangs look to keep their unblemished ACC record intact and clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game, while the Cavaliers are hoping to clinch bowl eligibility and send their seniors out with a win in their final game at Scott Stadium.
Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. SMU with everything you need to know, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a score prediction.
Who: Virginia Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3 ACC) vs. SMU Mustangs (9-1, 6-0 ACC)
When: Saturday, November 23rd at 12pm ET
Where: Scott Stadium (61,500) in Charlottesville, VA
How to watch: ESPN2
How to listen: SiriusXM 381, SXM App 971 | Virginia Sports Radio Network
All-time series: first meeting
Read Virginia’s injury report for the SMU game here: UVA Football Week 13 Injury Report: Kam Robinson, James Jackson, Corey Thomas
See below for UVA’s week 13 depth chart for the SMU game: Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. SMU | Takeaways, Analysis
2023: 11-3, 8-0 AAC
2024: 9-1, 6-0 ACC
For Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs, their first foray into the Atlantic Coast Conference couldn’t be going much better, save an 18-15 loss in week 3 to BYU, a team that is still alive for the Big 12 Championship. SMU comes to Charlottesville riding a seven-game winning streak, which includes a 66-42 victory over TCU, an impressive 34-27 win on the road at then-No. 22 Louisville, an overtime victory over Duke that was a bit fortunate as the Blue Devils squandered multiple chances to win the game late, but the Mustangs followed that up with their most impressive win of the season, a 48-25 victory over Pitt. Last week, SMU was tested by Boston College, but ultimately pulled away for a 38-28 win.
SMU has the second-ranked scoring offense in the ACC, averaging just under 40 points per game. Powering that offense is a very strong run game, the second-best rushing offense in the ACC (190.9 rushing yards per game and 24 rushing touchdowns), which is headlined by one of the top running backs in the country in Brashard Smith, who has racked up 1,026 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns and is averaging more than 100 yards per game.
Though SMU leans heavily on its ground game, the Mustangs are more than capable of throwing the ball as well. Quarterback Kevin Jennings ranks fourth in the ACC in completion percentage at 65.4% and is careful with the football, throwing 15 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He has a plethora of targets in the passing game, as SMU boasts three receivers with at least four touchdowns, four who have at least 20 catches, and five who have hauled in multiple touchdown passes this season.
SMU’s run defense is even better than its rushing offense, leading the ACC in run defense and allowing less than 100 yards per game on the ground. The Mustangs are a quite a bit weaker in pass defense, surrendering almost 250 passing yards per game, which is 13th in the ACC. SMU makes up for it by forcing turnovers, recording 14 interceptions (2nd-most in the ACC) and six fumble recoveries.
SMU has 23 sacks as a team this season, 9.5 of which have come from dynamic defensive ends Isaiah Smith and Jahfari Harvey, who will put a ton of pressure on UVA’s offensive tackles. Keep an eye on safeties Isaiah Nwokobia and Ahmaad Moses, who have each posted three interceptions this season.
UVA’s quarterback situation
With Anthony Colandrea’s quarterback play regressing recently (seven interceptions and one touchdown pass in his last three games) and Tony Muskett playing decently in his garbage time backup opportunities, Muskett and Colandrea have been splitting first-team reps in practice this week. Tony Elliott said on Tuesday that he was still leaning towards Colandrea retaining his starting job, but even if that’s the case, it’ll be interesting to see if Elliott has Colandrea on a short leash. Muskett has yet to enter a game that wasn’t already completely out of reach. Virginia is desperate to pick up that sixth win, so it should be all hands on deck.
Turnover margin and red zone efficiency
Virginia is -4 in the turnover margin department this season and ball security has been a particular issue recently. SMU, meanwhile, has forced 20 turnovers this season. The Mustangs are also ranked third in the ACC in both red zone offense and red zone defense, while the Cavaliers have struggled with red zone efficiency all season. An upset win for UVA will likely require the Hoos to win the turnover battle and execute at a high level in the red zone on both sides of the ball.
Defend home field
Virginia is 2-3 at home this season, with those wins coming against Richmond and Boston College. The Cavaliers must have some pride about protecting their home field and sending their seniors out on top in their last games at home. Much has been made about UVA’s home attendance this season. In their final opportunity to see Virginia football play at home this season, we’re looking for the UVA faithful to show out at Scott Stadium and provide the Hoos with a real home field advantage.
Virginia is capable of hanging around with and even beating SMU if the Cavaliers bring their A game. But UVA hasn’t been able to bring that A game consistently this season or even throughout all four quarters of a game and that’s what it’ll likely take in order to slow down SMU. I see the Pony Express continuing to roll as the Mustangs pick up their eighth straight win, remain unbeaten in conference play, and secure their spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Score prediction: SMU 31, Virginia 23
UVA Football: Players to Watch in Virginia vs. SMU
Stat Comparison: How Virginia Football Stacks Up Against SMU on Paper
Tony Elliott Updates the Virginia Football Quarterback Situation
UVA Football Week 13 Injury Report: Kam Robinson, James Jackson, Corey Thomas
Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. SMU | Takeaways, Analysis
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