# 2024 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team

The 2024 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team represented the University of Virginia during the 2024 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Cavaliers were led by head coach Steve Swanson, in his twenty-fifth season. They played home games at Klöckner Stadium. This was the team's 39th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 37th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cavaliers began the season unranked in national polls and won all seven of their non-conference games. They were ranked twenty-first before their match up with number three Penn State, which they won 2–1. That was the only goal Virginia allowed during non-conference play. They did not play another power five or ranked team during non conference. They finished their non-conference slate ranked fourth in the national polls. They started ACC play ranked second and won their first match against Miami. However, they lost their next four straight games, with three of those games being against ranked opponents. The streak started with a loss to unranked Wake Forest before losses to number sixteen Notre Dame, number four North Carolina and number two Duke. They finished the streak ranked twenty-fifth. The Cavaliers won their next two games before losing at number twenty-two Florida State. They fell out of the rankings after a defeat of Clemson. They finished the ACC season with a victory over rivals and twelfth ranked Virginia Tech.
The Cavaliers finished the season 13–5–1 overall and 5–5–0 in ACC play to finish in ninth place. They did not qualify for the ACC Tournament. This was the second consecutive season they did not qualify for the ACC tournament. They received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, where they were the fourth seed in the Southern California Bracket. They defeated Princeton in the First Round before falling to fifth-seed Wisconsin in the Second Round.

## Previous season

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 time not making the 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Cayla White | 0 | GK | 5'6" | Graduate Student | Arlington, Virginia | Graduated |
| Peyton Goldthwaite | 2 | MF | 5'4" | Senior | Durham, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Lacey McCormack | 11 | DF | 5'8" | Graduate Student | Arlington, Virginia | Graduated |
| Brianna Jablonowski | 15 | FW | 5'6" | Senior | Centerport, New York | Graduated; Transferred to Northeastern |
| Sarah Brunner | 18 | FW/MF | 5'4" | Senior | Jacksonville, Florida | Graduated; Transferred to South Florida |
| Talia Staude | 20 | DF | 5'7" | Graduate Student | Atlanta, Georgia | Graduated; Drafted 24th overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Moira Kelley | 20 | DF | 5'9" | Graduate Student | Overland Park, Kansas | Kansas |
| Linda Mittermair | 11 | FW/MF | 5'7" | Graduate Student | Hitzing, Austria | University of Vienna |
| Ellie Sommers | 33 | GK | 5'7" | Graduate Student | Boulder, Colorado | Loyola Marymount |
Source:

### Recruiting class

Source:
| Name | Hometown | Club |
| Sophia Bradley FW | Wayne, New Jersey | PDA |
| Sarah Flammia MF | Goochland, Virginia | Richmond United |
| Kira Waller MF | Alexandria, Virginia | Virginia Union |
| Annamarie Williams MF | Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania | Internationals SC (OH) |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 22, 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Victoria Safradin |
| 2 | MF | USA | Kira Waller |
| 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 | FW | AUT | Linda Mittermair |
| 12 | DF | USA | Aniyah Collier |
| 13 | DF | USA | Helen Symbas |
| 14 | MF | USA | Emma Dawson |
| 15 | FW | USA | Sarah Flammia |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | USA | Ella Carter |
| 17 | DF | USA | Tatum Galvin |
| 18 | DF | USA | Samar Guidry |
| 19 | MF | USA | Jill Flammia |
| 20 | DF | USA | Moira Kelley |
| 21 | MF | USA | Chloe Japic |
| 22 | MF | USA | Lia Godfrey |
| 23 | DF | USA | Laney Rouse |
| 24 | DF | USA | Kathryn Kelly |
| 25 | MF | USA | Annamarie Williams |
| 26 | FW | USA | Maya Carter |
| 27 | FW | USA | Sophia Bradley |
| 29 | GK | USA | Camryn Miller |
| 33 | GK | USA | Ellie Sommers |

### 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:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 7* 7:00 p.m. | | Tennessee | None Reported | – | Klöckner Stadium Charlottesville, VA |
| August 10* 7:30 p.m. | | Georgetown | None Reported | – | Klöckner Stadium Charlottesville, VA |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| August 15* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Towson | W 2–0 | 1–0–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,110) Charlottesville, VA |
| August 18* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Northwestern | W 2–0 | 2–0–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,088) Charlottesville, VA |
| August 22* 5:30 p.m., BTN+ | No. 21т | at No. 3 Penn State | W 2–1 | 3–0–0 | Jeffrey Field (1,603) State College, PA |
| August 25* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 21т | Utah Valley | W 5–0 | 4–0–0 | Klöckner Stadium (—) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 1* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | at James Madison | W 3–0 | 5–0–0 | Sentara Park (624) Harrisonburg, VA |
| September 5* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 4 | at VCU | W 1–0 | 6–0–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (481) Richmond, VA |
| September 8* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | Howard | W 4–0 | 7–0–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,302) Charlottesville, VA |
| ACC Regular Season ||||||
| September 12 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | at Miami | W 3–1 | 8–0–0 (1–0–0) | Cobb Stadium (389) Coral Gables, FL |
| September 15 12:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | Wake Forest | L 0–3 | 8–1–0 (1–1–0) | Klöckner Stadium (1,402) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 22 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | No. 16 Notre Dame | L 0–1 | 8–2–0 (1–2–0) | Klöckner Stadium (1,311) Charlottesville, VA |
| September 27 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 19 | at No. 4 North Carolina | L 2–3 | 8–3–0 (1–3–0) | Dorrance Field (2,979) Chapel Hill, NC |
| October 3 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 25 | at No. 2 Duke | L 1–3 | 8–4–0 (1–4–0) | Koskinen Stadium (879) Durham, NC |
| October 10 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 25 | NC State | W 3–0 | 9–4–0 (2–4–0) | Klöckner Stadium (1,244) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 13 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 25 | SMU | W 2–1 | 10–4–0 (3–4–0) | Klöckner Stadium (1,405) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 17 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 23 | at No. 22 Florida State | L 0–4 | 10–5–0 (3–5–0) | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,234) Tallahassee, FL |
| October 25 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 24 | Clemson | W 1–0 | 11–5–0 (4–5–0) | Klöckner Stadium (1,956) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 31 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 12 Virginia Tech Rivalry | W 1–0 | 12–5–0 (5–5–0) | Thompson Field (1,056) Blacksburg, VA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 15 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) | Princeton First Round | W 2–1 | 13–5–0 | Klöckner Stadium (1,120) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 22 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) | (5) Wisconsin Second Round | T 0–0 (2–4 PKs) | 13–5–1 | McAlister Field (178) Los Angeles, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Maggie Cagle | Pre-season All-ACC Team | August 8, 2024 |
| Lia Godfrey | Pre-season All-ACC Team | August 8, 2024 |
| Tatum Galvin | ACC Defensive Player of the Week – Week 1 | August 20, 2024 |
| Maggie Cagle | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week – Week 2 | August 27, 2024 |
| Victoria Safradin | ACC Defensive Player of the Week – Week 2 | August 27, 2024 |
| Maggie Cagle | All-ACC Third Team | November 6, 2024 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | RV | 21т | 7 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 24 | RV | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | RV |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 23 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |