Virginia blasts Liberty

The biggest fault that Virginia coach Steve Swanson could find after his team’s season-opening loss to Penn State last Friday was its finishing ability.

A week later, Swanson had no such complaints.

Virginia, behind a goal and three assists from freshman Caroline Miller, completed its annual thumping of Liberty, 5-0, in front of a crowd of 1,060 on Friday night at Klockner Stadium.

“I think we were very anxious to get out and play again,” Swanson said. “We felt like we did enough good things last week to get a result and didn’t get one. That kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

“I felt the level [of play] was high right on through, so that was good to see.”

Virginia, which has outscored Liberty 41-0 in nine victories since the schools began playing in 2000, has won its last 20 home openers. The Cavaliers will look to win two straight when they host Hofstra on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Virginia was never threatened by Liberty, outshooting the Flames 33-3. UVa held a 15-0 advantage in corner kicks. In the second half, Swanson emptied his bench, giving playing time to several young players.

Virginia (1-1) didn’t waste any time against Liberty (0-1). In the seventh minute, Lauren Alwine sprinted past a Flames defender and made a nifty cross to Meghan Lenczyk, who blasted home a goal.

“When Lauren gets the ball and is isolated, we’ve really talked to her about getting behind the defender,” Swanson said. “I thought she did a great job of that and slipping the ball to Meghan.”

After just missing on a couple of quality scoring chances, UVa struck again in the 35th minute when Miller headed home her first college goal off a free kick from fellow freshman Julia Roberts.

Just before the half, Virginia senior Jess Rostedt put Virginia up 3-0 when she snuck past the Flames back line and chipped a shot over the head of keeper Karen Blocker.

Alwine and Kate Norbo added goals in the second half to round out the scoring.