The Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team represents

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

women's college soccer. The team has won three regular season conference championships, in 2013, 2015 and 2021. The Cavaliers have also won the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament twice, in 2004 and 2012. The team has advanced to the NCAA Women's soccer tournament thirty three times. Their best appearance is runner up in 2014.

History

1980s

The Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team was founded in 1985 with head coach Dan Beshoar. The team went 10–8–0 in their inaugural season and did not play in a conference. The University of Virginia was a member of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

, but the conference did not begin to sponsor women's soccer until 1987. Beshoar would only coach one season and

Lauren Gregg Lauren Gregg (born July 20, 1960) is an American soccer coach and retired soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. She made one appearance for the United States women's national soccer team in 1986. She was the first-ever female assi ...

would take over in 1986. In her first season, the Cavaliers finished with their only non-winning record in program history. An 8–8–2 record was still .500, however. In 1987 the team made its first NCAA Women's soccer tournament, falling in the first round. 1988 was the inaugural season of the ACC Women's Soccer Tournament. The Cavaliers qualified, and fell in the first round. However, they made it all the way to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The decade closed with repeat performances in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments, but and improvement to 16 overall wins, from 14 in the previous season.

1990s

Gregg's successful run continued into the 90s, as the Cavaliers began the decade with an 18 win season, finished runners up in the ACC Tournament, and made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Their 18–3–0 record was a program best for wins that would stand until 2013. The Cavaliers had continued success in 1991 as they made the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. 1993 proved to be a difficult season, in relative terms, for the team. Their 10–9–2 record was the second worst by winning percentage in team history. It was also only the third time in the team's history they did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers would turn it around quickly however, finishing 1994 with 4 conference wins, 13 overall wins, and a return to the NCAA Tournament. 1994 was the start of a string of 25 straight NCAA appearances for the team. After a very similar 1995 season, Gregg would retire as head coach. Prior to the 1996 season, it was announced that

April Heinrichs April Dawn Heinrichs (born February 27, 1964) is an American former soccer player and coach. She was among the first players on the United States women's national soccer team, and was captain of the United States team which won the first ever FI ...

would be the third coach in program history. Heinrichs continued the team's success, winning double digit overall games in each year between 1996 and 1999. The Cavailers also qualified for both the NCAA Tournament and ACC Tournament in those seasons. A new team record of 5 ACC wins was set in 1998. The team also made the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1997 and 1999. After the 1999 season, Heinrichs left Virginia to become the coach of the US Women's National Team.

2000s

The decade began with the hiring of Steve Swanson as the program's fourth head coach in history. The hiring would prove a transformative one, but Swanson got off to a slow start. In 2000, the team won only 11 overall games, their lowest total since 1993. However, the team did make it to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. 2001 proved successful with 17 total wins and a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals. 2002 saw a lower win total of 13, but the team returned to the NCAA Round of 16. 2003 would end a run of four straight years making the NCAA Round of 16. The Cavaliers lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and won 12 games overall. In 2004, the team won their first ever ACC Tournament Championship. This post-season luck did not carry forward to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round. The team tied a then-program best win total of 18 in 2005, finished runners up in the ACC Tournament and returned to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The 2005 season began a run of 14 straight season where the Cavaliers made at least the NCAA Round of 16. However, ACC Tournament success would not follow, as the team never made it past the second round from 2006 to 2011. The team closed the decade with a 10 win season in 2009.

2010s

The Cavaliers won an increasing number of games each year between 2010 and 2013. This improvement streak began with a solid 15 wins, and 7 conference wins in 2000. Additionally, the Cavaliers extended their streak of making at least the NCAA Round of 16. 2011 would be the team's fourth ever NCAA Quarterfinals appearance. 2012 saw the Cavaliers win their second ACC Tournament, tie their program record for overall wins at 18, and make the NCAA Sweet 16. 2013 and 2014 would be the two best years in program history. In 2013, the Cavaliers had a perfect ACC season, finishing 13–0–0 and winning the regular season title. They would also make the NCAA Semifinals for the first time in since 1991. In 2014, they finished runners up in both the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. To follow that up, they again finished runners up in the ACC Tournament in 2015. However, they fell one win short of a third straight year of 20 overall wins. The program could not quite repeat those highs from 2016 to 2018. However, the team did finish with double digit wins and NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in each of those seasons.

2020s

The decade started with a season shortened by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The team played a reduced conference schedule in the fall and played their out of conference schedule in the spring of 2021. They finished in third place in the ACC with a 5–2–1 record. The NCAA tournament was held in the spring, and the Cavaliers advanced to the Semifinals, before falling on penalties. This was their best performance in the NCAA tournament since 2014. 2021 saw a return to a more normal schedule and the Cavaliers posted a 18–3–2 overall record and a 8–0–2 ACC record. They won the ACC Regular Season title and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were unable to match last year's semifinal performance, falling in the Round of 16. 2022 was another successful year with the Cavaliers posting 16 wins and finishing fourth in the ACC. They qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the twenty-ninth time in a row and reached the Quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champion, UCLA.

Personnel

Current roster

Team management

Source:

Seasons

Notable alumni

Current Professionals

Becky Sauerbrunn Rebecca Elizabeth Sauerbrunn (born June 6, 1985) is an American professional soccer player for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States. Since 2021 ...

(2003–2007) – Currently with

Portland Thorns The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the U ...

and USA international *

Morgan Gautrat Morgan Paige Gautrat (; born February 26, 1993) is an American soccer player who most recently played for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United Stat ...

(2011–2014) – Currently with

Kansas City Current Kansas City Current is an American professional women's soccer team based in Kansas City, Kansas. It began play as an expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2021. History Establishment Kansas City last had an NWSL t ...

and USA international *

Danielle Colaprico Danielle Jessica Colaprico (born May 6, 1993) is an American soccer player who currently plays for San Diego Wave FC of the NWSL. She previously played for NWSL rivals Chicago Red Stars as well as Adelaide United and Sydney FC in the Australian ...

(2011–2014) – Currently with

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* Makenzy Doniak (2012–2015) – Currently with

* Brittany Ratcliffe (2012–2015) – Currently with

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York ...

Emily Sonnett Emily Ann Sonnett (born November 25, 1993) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) as well as the United States women's national soccer team. Early life and education Sonnet ...

(2012–2015) – Currently with

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

and USA international *

Kristen McNabb Kristen Claire McNabb (born April 17, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for San Diego Wave of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). McNabb has represented the United States on the under-18 and under-23 national t ...

(2012–2016) – Currently with

* Veronica Latsko (2014–2017) – Currently with

OL Reign OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

* Megan Reid (2014–2017) – Currently with Angel City * Brianna Westrup (2015–2018) – Currently with

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and

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international * Courtney Petersen (2015–2019) – Currently with

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to th ...

* Phoebe McClernon (2016–2019) – Currently with

* Zoe Morse (2016–2019) – Currently with

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

Diana Ordoñez Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997 ...

(2019–2021) – Currently with

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

international

References

External links

* {{Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer navbox Soccer clubs in Virginia NCAA Division I women's soccer teams