The 2023 Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team represented the University of Virginia during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Cavaliers were led by head coach Steve Swanson, in his twenty-fourth season. They played home games at Klöckner Stadium. This was the team's 38th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 36th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cavaliers played only three Power 5 opponents in their non-conference season and finished 1–0–2 against those opponents. They began the season ranked number 5, but finished the non-conference season ranked number 18 after the draws against and . The Cavaliers finished non-conference with a 5–0–2 record. ACC play started with a draw against Louisville. That was followed by two losses, two more draws, and a loss. However, the Cavaliers did play three ranked teams over that stretch. After a September 24 loss to Wake Forest, they dropped out of the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Cavaliers wouldn't return to the rankings for the rest of the season despite winning three of their last four games.
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.
Previous season
The Cavaliers finished 16–4–3 overall and 6–2–2 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fourth-seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted Duke in the First Round and lost 2–1. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they were the third-seed in the UCLA Bracket. They defeated in the First Round, in the Second Round, two-seed in the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champions in the Quarterfinals to end their season.
Offseason
Departures
Departures Michaela Moran 1 GK 5'8" Graduate Student Greeley, Colorado Graduated Jansen Eichenlaub 6 FW/MF 5'5" Senior Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Graduated Alexa Spaanstra 7 FW 5'5" Graduate Student Brighton, Michigan Graduated; drafted 10th overallin the 2023 NWSL Draft Sarah Clark 8 DF 5'6" Graduate Student Brighton, Michigan Graduated Claire Constant 12 DF 5'7" Graduate Student Alexandria, Virginia Graduated Rebecca Jarrett 13 FW 5'6" Graduate Student Washington Township, New Jersey Graduated Haley Hopkins 17 FW 5'10" Graduate Student Newport Beach, California Graduated; drafted 11th overallin the 2023 NWSL Draft Charlotte McClure 24 MF 5'5" Sophomore Ridgeland, South Carolina Transferred to Florida Maggie Fralin 27 MF 5'5" Junior Richmond, Virginia Transferred to Maryland Grace Santos 28 MF 5'7" Junior Charlottesville, Virginia — Ally Reynolds 33 GK 5'7" Sophomore Los Angeles, California —
Incoming transfers
Incoming transfers Kathryn Kelly 24 DF 5'8" Sophomore Belmont, California UCLA
Recruiting class
Source:
Name Nationality Hometown Club TDS Rating Leesburg, Virginia TSJ FC Virginia Loganville, Georgia GSA (ECNL U16) Mill Valley, California FC Bay Area Atlanta, Georgia Concorde Fire SC Eastlake, Ohio Internationals SC (OH)
Squad
Roster
Team management Athletic DirectorCarla WilliamsHead CoachSteve SwansonAssociate head coachRon RaabAssistant CoachSam RaperAssistant CoachLizzy SierackiDirector of OperationsEilidh Thomson
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Schedule
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!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=6 style=""| Non-conference Regular season
!colspan=6 style=""| ACC regular season
Awards and honors Maggie Cagle Pre-season All-ACC Team August 10 Lia Godfrey Hermann Trophy Preseason Watchlist August 17 Meredith McDermott ACC Offensive Player of the Week September 5 Maggie Cagle All-ACC Second Team November 1 Yuna McCormack All-ACC Freshman Team
Rankings
2024 NWSL Draft
Natalia Staude North Carolina Courage 2 24 DF
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References