The University of Miami women’s soccer team was able to pick up its first conference win of the season against No. 24 Virginia Tech at Cobb Stadium on Thursday evening.
The ‘Canes (4-5-2, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) were able to ride off of the momentum from their narrow 1-0 loss against defending national champion Florida State last Saturday, putting together one of their most impressive performances of the year against the Hokies (9-3-1, 3-2 ACC).
“We were locked in,” Miami head coach Sarah Barnes said in a Miami Athletics release. “We brought good pressure, created turnovers and made things difficult for Virginia Tech. In the end, we really set the tone and created opportunities for ourselves to have the ball a little bit more.”
Throughout the season, the Hurricanes have had great difficulty putting the ball in the back of the net, with goalkeeper Melissa Dagenais’ spectacular play keeping them in games. However, the offensive woes were non-existent on Thursday as Miami scored a season-high three goals.
Sophomore defender Adrianna Serna kicked things off with her first goal of the season in the 38th minute. The goal came off a corner kick by redshirt freshman forward Megan Morgan.
“I was trying to make it difficult for the goalie to see,” Serna said. “I think that got us off to a great start. We were all fired up and we wanted to keep the energy up.”
UM has struggled in the second half this year, but Thursday was different. The ‘Canes scored a quick goal in the 58th minute when Virginia native Lauren Meeks took a shot that hit the post before going into the back of the net.
Soon after Meek’s goal, Katerina Molina capped off the Hurricanes’ best offensive performance of the season with another goal.
“Everyone brought energy tonight, which made it really easy to settle into the game off the bench,” Molina said.
Dagenais continued her dominant season with another beautiful showing in the net. She would have had her fifth shutout of the year if it wasn’t for sophomore Allie George scoring a goal in garbage time.
The ‘Canes defeated their first top-25 team since 2019, when they beat No. 15 Clemson, 3-2, in double overtime.
Miami will take on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Sunday at 1 p.m.