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22 CAVALIER CORNER "It was just my parents letting me and my brother try all of the sports we wanted to when we were younger," Godfrey said. "We happened upon soccer — I think at the YMCA because they had all sports available — and it was just something that we tried. We kept coming back and it was the sport I loved most growing up, so I just stuck with it." The experience set her on a path that would eventually lead her to Virginia through various local connections that some might call fate. She knew by the time she reached high school that she wanted to pursue opportunities to keep playing soccer in college; it just so happened that ties with Virginia women's soccer alumnae helped forge a bond. "At the time, I had people I knew and looked up to playing college soccer, and I wanted to do that too," Godfrey said. "I felt like deep down Virginia was going to be the place. It came down to two places — Vir- ginia and North Carolina — but my neighbor growing up was Kaili Torres. I also watched Morgan Brian come here, and they had so much pride and amazing things to say about Virginia. I had background information about the school already that made me love it." Godfrey excelled on the pitch throughout her club and high school career, competing internationally with multiple U.S. youth na- tional teams. She was the youngest player to ever represent the United States with the U17 Team when she competed in the 2016 U17 World Cup as a 14-year-old. The mid- fielder graduated from high school as the No. 10 recruit nationally after twice earning high school All-America honors. Despite all the accolades, taking the pitch in 2020 and competing for the Cava- liers was something she said she had to feel out as her role took shape on a tal- ented Virginia squad that had spent most of the 2019 season ranked No. 1 nationally. "I did not expect to have the impact I had; I just wanted to come in and do what I could for the team," Godfrey said. "The team had been doing really well and was full of starting seniors in the midfield. I didn't ex- pect things to happen as they did last year." After a delayed start to the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Godfrey came off the bench in the season opener against Virginia Tech. In that debut, she assisted on what proved to be the winning goal when she IMPACT IMPACT PLAYER PLAYER Lia Godfrey Made An Immediate Impression On The Virginia Women's Soccer Team " Last year I was super nervous coming into fall camp and then going into the NCAA Tournament. Now that I have some experience after a long season and having almost the same team, I feel very comfortable and more confident." LIA GODFREY BY BILL BUNTING L ike most children, when Lia Godfrey began playing soccer it was only one of a range of activities in which she was in- volved as a 5-year-old whose parents were trying to find the endeavors that caught her interest.