Makenzie Rodrigues scored twice as New York University's women's soccer team defeated Southern Virginia University 3-0 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship tournament in Newark, NJ, on Friday, November 10.

The Violets are hosting a first and second-round pod at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium in Newark, opening the day with a convincing victory before Carnegie Mellon University and Washington and Lee University faced off in the nightcap.

Postgame Interview:

Rodrigues opened the scoring in the 21st minute with Rachel Kim setting up the finish. Rodrigues made a run between the lines up the center of the pitch and Kim sent a perfect ball over the top which the center forward collected and slotted in the bottom left corner of the net.

The Violets maintained their 1-0 lead heading into the intermission, keeping the lions' share of possession and out-shooting the Knights 12-2 across the first 45 minutes.

Rodrigues secured a brace in the 49th minute off a ball from Gabriella Funk. Funk maneuvered around two defenders in the box, poking the ball to Rodrigues who sent it into the bottom left of the goal to give the Violets a 2-0 advantage. 

The Violets added their third goal just under 10 minutes later (57:36)  when Funk slipped a ball onto the foot of Dominique Bevaqua who flicked it into the back of the net, sending the Violets up 3-0.

SVU goalkeeper Katrina Gardner made seven saves while NYU's Tyler Hawkins made three in between the posts. 

The Violets held the Knights to six shots, outshooting them 23-6, 10-3 on goal. 

NYU will take on University Athletic Association (UAA) opponent Carnegie Mellon on Saturday at 3:00pm in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.