Cavaliers play host to Flames, Pride

When it comes to Virginia sports, there really isn’t a surer thing than the women’s soccer team faring well in its first home game. The Cavaliers have won their last 19 home openers.

Tonight, the No. 14 Cavs (0-1) will look to make it 20 when they host Liberty at Klockner Stadium at 7 p.m. The match kickstarts a big weekend for Virginia, which hosts Hofstra on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Last Friday, UVa lost its season-opening game on the road at Penn State.

“I thought we did enough good things in the game to get a result,” said Virginia coach Steve Swanson. “Our finishing, which we had been very good at [in the preseason], let us down a little.

“The effort was certainly there in the match, and I told the team that. We just couldn’t put one in the back of the net.”

Tonight’s game is the ninth all-time meeting with Liberty. The Cavaliers have owned the Flames, winning all eight previous meetings by a combined 36-0 score. Last year, the Cavaliers downed Liberty 5-0.

Swanson said his team is excited to start its home slate.

“Being at home and in front of our fans, and in a great atmosphere like there normally is at Klockner — it’s something we’re really looking forward to,” he said.

Although Virginia will surely see tougher competition down the road, Swanson expects this weekend to be a decent barometer for his young team, which hasn’t had much game experience.

“I think both of these games will be tough in the sense that we don’t know too much about the teams this year,” Swanson said. “I think Hofstra has always been a tough team to play against and certainly Liberty, through the years, has been very difficult to break down.

“We’ll have to play well in both games.”