Women’s Soccer: Seven Cavaliers Earn All-ACC Honors In Vote Of League Coaches
Posted on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, 2:42 pm
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Seven members of the No. 1 Virginia women’s soccer team (15-0-3) have been named to All-ACC honors in a vote of the league’s coaches, the conference office announced on Thursday (Nov. 7).
Senior forward Meghan McCool (Glenside, Pa.) earned All-ACC first team honors, while seniors defenders Phoebe McClernon (West Chester, Pa.) and Courtney Petersen (Canton, Mich.), junior midfielder Taryn Torres (Frisco, Texas), sophomore midfielder Alexa Spaanstra (Brighton, Mich.) and freshman forward Diana Ordonez (Prosper, Texas) all were named All-ACC second team selections. Junior goalkeeper Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) was named an All-ACC third team selection. Ordonez was also named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
The seven selections to All-ACC honors is the most in a single season for Virginia in program history.
McCool holds a league-leading 14 goals and six game-winning goals in overall games played, while she is second in goals per game (1.72), third in total points (30) and fourth in points per game (1.67). In conference games only, McCool was the league leader in total goals (6) and goals per game (0.67). She tied for the league lead in game-winning goals (4), total points (14) and points per game (1.56). McCool has scored in 13-of-18 matches played this season and hit the game-winning goal against then No. 16 Virginia Tech, No. 5 Florida State, Notre Dame and No. 12 Louisville. She also hit the game-winning goal against No. 9 Duke in the ACC quarterfinals.
McClernon and Petersen helped anchor a back line that has helped the Cavaliers post 13 shutouts on the season, including a streak of seven consecutive shutouts in ACC play, marking the most shutouts in ACC play in program history. Petersen also added a goal and four assists this season, including assists on the game-winning goals against No. 5 Florida State and Notre Dame. She also added a goal in the Cavalier’s win over Boston College.
Despite missing three games with injury this season, Ordonez leads the league in all matches in points per game (1.93) and goals per game (0.87), while her 13 goals this season is tied for second overall this season. She also has four game-winning goals this season, including the wins over then No. 12 West Virginia, No. 15 Georgetown and at Miami. She is only the second UVA player to score in the first give games of her career.
Spaanstra is second in the league in assists with 10 this season, including an assist on the game-winning goal against No. 10 Duke in the ACC quarterfinals. She also added three goals in wins over then No. 12 West Virginia, at Miami and against UC Irvine.
Torres has been an engine in the midfield for the Cavaliers, driving the Virginia team as a critical link between the back line and the attack. She tallied three assists on the year, including a game-winning assist against Minnesota, and has one goal this season.
Ivory ties for the national lead in shutouts this season with 12 that included seven shutouts in ACC play as she turned in 775 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal in ACC play. She has only conceded four goals on the season, including two in ACC play and only one against conference opponents from the run of play. Her .229 goals against average is second nationally, while her .857 save percentage is second in the ACC and among the top 25 nationally.
Virginia will return to action on Friday (Nov. 8) when the third-seeded Cavaliers face second-seeded Florida State at 2:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the ACC Championships. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network.
