2023 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team

The 2023 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team represented the University of Virginia during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Cavaliers were led by head coach Steve Swanson, in his twenty-fourth season. They played home games at Klöckner Stadium. This was the team's 38th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 36th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.^[1]

2023 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	8–3–6 (3–3–4 ACC)
Head coach	Steve Swanson (24th season)
Assistant coaches	Ron Raab (18th season) Sam Raper (2nd season)
Home stadium	Klöckner Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 ACC women's soccer standings

v t e	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 1 Florida State  ‍†‍‡‍^y	9	–	0	–	1		.950			22	–	0	–	1		.978
No. 16 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍^y	7	–	1	–	2		.800			12	–	4	–	4		.700
No. 3 Clemson  ‍‍‍^y	7	–	2	–	1		.750			18	–	4	–	4		.769
No. 8 North Carolina  ‍‍‍^y	5	–	0	–	5		.750			13	–	2	–	8		.739
No. 6 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍^y	6	–	3	–	1		.650			17	–	6	–	1		.729
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍	4	–	2	–	4		.600			10	–	3	–	5		.694
Virginia  ‍‍‍	3	–	3	–	4		.500			8	–	3	–	6		.647
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍	4	–	6	–	0		.400			7	–	8	–	3		.472
Louisville  ‍‍‍	3	–	5	–	2		.400			4	–	9	–	5		.361
Duke  ‍‍‍	2	–	5	–	3		.350			6	–	7	–	3		.469
NC State  ‍‍‍	2	–	5	–	3		.350			3	–	9	–	6		.333
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍	2	–	7	–	1		.250			3	–	10	–	4		.294
Boston College  ‍‍‍	0	–	6	–	4		.200			3	–	9	–	6		.333
Syracuse  ‍‍‍	0	–	9	–	1		.050			2	–	14	–	2		.167
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 ACC Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament Source: The ACC As of December 5, 2023 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll

The Cavaliers played only three Power 5 opponents in their non-conference season and finished 1–0–2 against those opponents. They began the season ranked number 5, but finished the non-conference season ranked number 18 after the draws against Michigan and Iowa. The Cavaliers finished non-conference with a 5–0–2 record. ACC play started with a draw against Louisville. That was followed by two losses, two more draws, and a loss. However, the Cavaliers did play three ranked teams over that stretch. After a September 24 loss to Wake Forest, they dropped out of the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Cavaliers wouldn't return to the rankings for the rest of the season despite winning three of their last four games.

The Cavaliers finished the season 8–3–6 overall and 3–3–4 in ACC play to finish in seventh place. They did not qualify for the ACC Tournament and were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. This was the first time the team did not qualify for the ACC tournament since its inception. It was also their first NCAA tournament since 1993, breaking a streak of twenty-nine straight tournaments. Their eight total wins were tied for the lowest in program history with their 1986 campaign and their three conference wins were their lowest since 2003.

Previous season

Main article: 2022 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team

The Cavaliers finished 16–4–3 overall and 6–2–2 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fourth-seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted Duke in the First Round and lost 2–1. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they were the third-seed in the UCLA Bracket. They defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Round, Xavier in the Second Round, two-seed Penn State in the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champions UCLA in the Quarterfinals to end their season.

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Michaela Moran	1	GK	5'8"	Graduate Student	Greeley, Colorado	Graduated
Jansen Eichenlaub	6	FW/MF	5'5"	Senior	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Graduated
Alexa Spaanstra	7	FW	5'5"	Graduate Student	Brighton, Michigan	Graduated; drafted 10th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft
Sarah Clark	8	DF	5'6"	Graduate Student	Brighton, Michigan	Graduated
Claire Constant	12	DF	5'7"	Graduate Student	Alexandria, Virginia	Graduated
Rebecca Jarrett	13	FW	5'6"	Graduate Student	Washington Township, New Jersey	Graduated
Haley Hopkins	17	FW	5'10"	Graduate Student	Newport Beach, California	Graduated; drafted 11th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft
Charlotte McClure	24	MF	5'5"	Sophomore	Ridgeland, South Carolina	Transferred to Florida
Maggie Fralin	27	MF	5'5"	Junior	Richmond, Virginia	Transferred to Maryland
Grace Santos	28	MF	5'7"	Junior	Charlottesville, Virginia	—
Ally Reynolds	33	GK	5'7"	Sophomore	Los Angeles, California	—

Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Kathryn Kelly	24	DF	5'8"	Sophomore	Belmont, California	UCLA^[2]

Recruiting class

Source:^[3]

Name	Nationality	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
Ella Carter MF		Leesburg, Virginia	TSJ FC Virginia	^[4]
Aniyah Collier DF		Loganville, Georgia	GSA (ECNL U16)	^[5]
Yuna McCormack MF		Mill Valley, California	FC Bay Area	^[6]
Alexandra Ross FW		Atlanta, Georgia	Concorde Fire SC	^[7]
Victoria Safradin GK		Eastlake, Ohio	Internationals SC (OH)	^[8]

Squad

Roster

As of 27 November 2023^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK   USA Cayla White 1 GK   USA Victoria Safradin 2 MF   USA Peyton Goldthwaite 3 MF   USA Alexis Theoret 4 DF   USA Kiki Maki 5 MF   USA Laughlin Ryan 6 FW   USA Degen Miller 7 MF   USA Yuna McCormack 8 FW   USA Allie Ross 9 FW   USA Meredith McDermott 10 FW   USA Maggie Cagle 11 MF   USA Lacey McCormack 12 DF   USA Aniyah Collier 13 DF   USA Helen Symbas

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 MF   USA Emma Dawson 15 FW   USA Brianna Jablonowski 15 MF   USA Ella Carter 17 DF   USA Tatum Galvin 18 FW   USA Sarah Brunner 19 MF   USA Jill Flammia 20 DF   USA Talia Staude 21 MF   USA Chloe Japic 22 MF   USA Lia Godfrey 23 DF   USA Laney Rouse 24 DF   USA Kathryn Kelly 25 DF   USA Samar Guidry 26 FW   USA Maya Carter 29 GK   USA Camryn Miller

Team management

Position	Staff
Athletic Director	Carla Williams
Head Coach	Steve Swanson
Associate head coach	Ron Raab
Assistant Coach	Sam Raper
Assistant Coach	Lizzy Sieracki
Director of Operations	Eilidh Thomson

Source:^[9]

Schedule

Source:^[10][11]

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
August 8* 12:00 p.m.	No. 5	vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	L 1–3	–	Central Michigan Soccer Complex Maple City, MI
August 13* 12:00 p.m.	No. 5	at Ohio State	None Reported	–	Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Columbus, OH
Non-conference Regular season
August 17* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 5	Nevada	W 5–0	1–0–0	Klöckner Stadium (1,199) Charlottesville, VA
August 20* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 5	Radford	W 5–0	2–0–0	Klöckner Stadium (1,390) Charlottesville, VA
August 24* 8:00 p.m.15, ACCNX	No. 5	Michigan	T 0–0	2–0–1	Klöckner Stadium (1,684) Charlottesville, VA
August 27* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 5	at George Mason	W 4–0	3–0–1	George Mason Stadium (928) Fairfax, VA
August 31* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 12	West Virginia	W 2–1	4–0–1	Klöckner Stadium (1,497) Charlottesville, VA
September 3* 3:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 12	VCU	W 4–1	5–0–1	Klöckner Stadium (1,172) Charlottesville, VA
September 7* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 18	Iowa	T 0–0	5–0–2	Klöckner Stadium (1,345) Charlottesville, VA
ACC Regular Season
September 16 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 20	at Louisville	T 1–1	5–0–3 (0–0–1)	Lynn Stadium (221) Louisville, KY
September 21 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 22	No. 1 North Carolina	L 0–1	5–1–3 (0–1–1)	Klöckner Stadium (2,674) Charlottesville, VA
September 24 2:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 22	at Wake Forest	L 0–2	5–2–3 (0–2–1)	Spry Stadium (710) Winston-Salem, NC
October 1 12:00 p.m., ACCNX		No. 17 Duke	T 1–1	5–2–4 (0–2–2)	Klöckner Stadium (1,817) Charlottesville, VA
October 5 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at No. 9 Clemson	T 1–1	5–2–5 (0–2–3)	Riggs Field (583) Clemson, SC
October 8 2:00 p.m., ACCN		at NC State	L 1–2	5–3–5 (0–3–3)	Dail Soccer Field (252) Raleigh, NC
October 15 1:30 p.m., ACCN		Virginia Tech Rivalry	W 3–0	6–3–5 (1–3–3)	Klöckner Stadium (2,184) Charlottesville, VA
October 19 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Miami (FL)	W 1–0	7–3–5 (2–3–3)	Klöckner Stadium (1,419) Charlottesville, VA
October 22 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Boston College	T 1–1	7–3–6 (2–3–4)	Klöckner Stadium (1,415) Charlottesville, VA
October 26 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at Syracuse	W 4–0	8–3–6 (3–3–4)	SU Soccer Stadium (102) Syracuse, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date	Ref.
Maggie Cagle	Pre-season All-ACC Team	August 10	^[12]
Lia Godfrey	Hermann Trophy Preseason Watchlist	August 17	^[13]
Meredith McDermott	ACC Offensive Player of the Week	September 5	^[14]
Maggie Cagle	All-ACC Second Team	November 1	^[15]
Yuna McCormack	All-ACC Freshman Team

Rankings

See also: 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
United Soccer^[16]	5	5	12	18	20	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released				—
TopDrawer Soccer^[17]	6	6	7	7	10	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

2024 NWSL Draft

Main article: 2024 NWSL Draft

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position
Natalia Staude	North Carolina Courage	2	24	DF

Source:^[18]

References

1. 2020 Fact Book (PDF)
2. "Virginia Announces Addition Of Transfer Kathryn Kelly". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. July 21, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
3. "Virginia Announces Newcomer Class For 2023-24". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia. May 26, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
4. "Ella Carter". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
5. "Aniyah Collier". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
6. "Yuna McCormack". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
7. "Alexandra Ross". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
8. "Victoria Safradin". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
9. "2023-24 Women's Soccer Roster". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
10. "2023-24 Women's Soccer Schedule". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
11. "Virginia Announces 2023 Schedule And Season Ticket Sales". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. June 20, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
12. "North Carolina Named 2023 ACC Women's Soccer Preseason Favorite". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
13. "2023 Women's Hermann Trophy Watch List Announced". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
14. "Virginia's McDermott, UNC's King Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
15. "2023 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
16. "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Women — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
17. "College Soccer National Rankings". topdrawersoccer.com. TopDrawer Soccer. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
18. "Conference-Record 19 Players Selected in 2024 NWSL Draft, UNC's Sentnor Goes No. 1 Overall". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.