Maci Landel’s lone goal and the shutout from Hargrove and her backline earned the Ivy the series win over United
In a game they controlled for 90 minutes, the Richmond Ivy defeated Virginia Beach United, 1-0, in the 2025 home season finale in front of a crowd of 4,305.
Richmond gained control of the ball early and maintained it through the whole night.
In the fifth minute, Molly Flammia found Jill Flammia at the top of the box, who made a move to create space and laced a shot on goal that was just low enough for the keeper to stop it.
Playing from the backline and captaining the side, Bekah Doolittle sent a pure through ball slicing through the heart of the Virginia Beach defense in the ninth minute. The ball found Maci Landel streaking past a defender on the right wing. Landel controlled the ball, shook the final defender, and chipped a shot over the goalie to get the Ivy on the scoreboard.
Virginia Beach United looked to respond off of the restart, attempting a long ball into the final third but Doolittle was in perfect position to intercept the pass and shut down the attack.
Throughout the first half, Richmond’s backline was key to the Ivy’s offensive success, building a barrage of attacks from the back half.
Minutes later, Virginia Beach built a promising attack and worked their way into the box but Doolittle and Maysen Nelson pressured the opposing attackers into a rushed offense. Doolittle was able to intercept another pass and kill the scoring threat.
Sarah Flammia and Landel applied relentless pressure to the Virginia Beach backline, eliminating any opportunities to build during the first 45.
In the 33rd minute, Landel found herself in a more central role, intercepting a pass around midfield, dribbling into the final third and sending a strike just a bit left of the goal.
Two minutes later, Landel got another chance to create a scoring opportunity, sending a pass into Jill Flammia, who made a move and sent a barreling shot at the top crossbar but a leaping goalkeeper was able to make the save.
Virginia Beach earned a corner kick in the first half’s stoppage time but quality set piece defense helped Lauren Hargrove easily claim the ball.
Richmond’s ball control continued in the second half
As the Richmond attack started to slow in the 77th, Gianna Chrapek ripped a shot from the right sideline that nearly found the back of the net, but the goalkeeper just barely got a hand to keep the ball out
Sophie Stroud made a lightning fast run into the final third in the last 10 minutes, where a perfectly placed ball was played. Stroud controlled the ball and attempted a shot that was just barely deflected away.
The Ivy would fend off Virginia Beach United through the final whistle and close out the 2025 home schedule with a 1-0 victory.
