Virginia’s non-conference victories were over Nevada (5-0), Radford (5-0), George Mason (4-0), West Virginia (2-1) and VCU (4-1). In ACC play, UVA defeated Virginia Tech (3-0), Miami (1-0) and Syracuse (4-0).
“I feel like we had some good performances,” Swanson said. “We just didn’t get results, especially when we needed to, but I was proud of the way the team handled the year.”
Virginia will have to replace five players—Jablonowski, Talia Staude, Lacey McCormack, Cayla White and Peyton Goldthwaite—and those are significant losses. Staude and McCormack each started all 17 games this fall, and White started 15 in the goal.
Still, there’s ample reason to believe the Hoos will return to form in 2024. A talented core set to return, including players like Godfrey, Dawson, Rouse, Guidry, Flammia, Japic, Maggie Cagle, Yuna McCormack, Meredith McDermott, Allie Ross, Sarah Brunner, Alexis Theoret, Ella Carter, Laughlin Ryan, Aniyah Collier, Kathryn Kelly, Kiki Maki and goalkeeper Victoria Safradin.
“There’s some really good, key pieces,” Swanson said.
Godfrey, a midfielder, was a first-team All-American in 2022, when she totaled eight goals and five assists.
Cagle, a forward, led the Hoos with 23 points (eight goals, seven assists) as a sophomore this season and was named to the All-ACC second team. Another sophomore forward, McDermott, contributed 19 points (eight goals, three assists), and Ross, a freshman forward, finished with 15 points (six goals, three assists).
Yuna McCormack, a midfielder, was second on the team in assists, with five, and was named to the ACC’s All-Freshman team. She also scored a goal.
At least five incoming freshmen will join the team after this school year ends, and Virginia is likely to add several players from the transfer portal.
The Cavaliers closed the season with their Oct. 26 rout of Syracuse, but they didn’t put away their cleats for another month.
“We trained all the way through to the last minute we could [in late November],” Swanson said. “We had some really good training sessions between the time that the NCAA tournament was announced and the time we [stopped], and I think that’s a testament to the players that we have. They’re not happy. I think they’re more hungry than they’ve ever been. I feel like if we can use the experiences that we’ve gained and just keep building on those, that’s going to help us going into next year.”
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