Virginia head coach Steve Swanson is a noble gentleman, but AI could pretty easily predict what he’ll say about a defeated opponent. He’ll say they were well organized, and he’ll hint that they’ll be playing well into November. And he’ll say the Hoos need to be more efficient in front of the goal.

Well, this time two out of three…

Unlike the Towson game, this game was over pretty quickly. Tatum Galvin played a through ball to Meredith McDermott that Northwestern defender Tanna Schornstein tried to block (she slipped), and McDermott was right there and neatly slotted in to give Virginia the 1-0 lead.

UVa’s stats heading into the new season: Virginia hasn’t lost a game in which they were ahead in over five years. (The commentators for both games have been trumpeting that gem so far.) The game then played out that script, as the women stalled the game and extended their lead just before halftime.

Lia Godfrey hit a beautiful ball wide and in front of Degen Miller. Miller charged to the byline and her powerful cross was pushed over the line by a Northwestern defender. Good things always happen when you get defenders running toward their own goal to make a play. Officially it was an own goal, but Degen deserves credit for it.

Freshman Victoria Safradin earned high praise from Swanson for the stops she makes in practice, and this was the first time she was challenged:

It’s hard to know what to make of a coach’s ravings. Last year in training camp, the talk was that Andrew Rohde was extremely aggressive and Ryan Dunn was a passable free-throw shooter. But Swanson had Laurel Ivory for five years and Cayla White for three, and if Safradin is a better goalie, that can only be good news.

Because the bad news is that this Cavaliers team is just getting started. The injury list is long – Jill Flammia, Emma Dawson and Aniyah Collier have not played yet – and Lia Godfrey is not even close to being ready to play (she played just 5 minutes in the second half, for example). If you count, three midfielders are missing or barely ready to play. In their collective absence, Linda Mittermair has taken the reins, but she is playing very strangely. In defense, she presses high, almost like a fourth striker, and very strong on the left side between McDermott and Maggie Cagle. In offense, it looks like she is trying to find gaps in the opposing defense, but it seems like no one knows where she will be. She barely touches the ball, leaving control of the midfield to Alexis Theoret and Yuna McCormack alone.

That will be enough against the Towsons and Northwesterns of this world. Virginia is too good for them. But things could get ugly against #4 Penn State, which Virginia travels to on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on B1G+ and kickoff is 5:30 p.m.