Student Experience

On the field, she’s a star. On the piano, she’s a rock star

It was early October 2020, amid her first season as a University of Virginia soccer player, when Lia Godfrey received a FaceTime call from her coach.

Steve Swanson, though, wasn’t seeking any soccer-related thoughts from his freshman midfielder. No, Eddie Van Halen had just died, and all Swanson wanted was for Godfrey, an accomplished pianist, to play a song by one of his favorite bands.

“And I knew ‘Jump,’” Godfrey said.

Soon, from behind her dorm room electric keyboard, she was taking Swanson back to the 1980s with her rendition of the synth-rock anthem. The audience of one roared in approval.

“It was awesome,” Swanson said. “She’s very good.”

Godfrey, now a sixth-year senior, still honors music requests as a star member of Swanson’s team. The three-time All-American – and 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Midfielder of the Year – leads the Cavaliers in goals, assists and Taylor Swift piano riffs as they enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed.

Godfrey kicking a soccer ball in front of an opponent.

Godfrey strikes the ball during UVA’s 1-0 win over Penn State on Sept. 4. Entering her final NCAA Tournament, the sixth-year senior has 27 career goals and 33 assists. (UVA Athletics photo)

“Quite a few of my teammates have requested Taylor Swift,” Godfrey said. “I don’t know a lot of her music, but I’ve learned a couple of her songs for them.”

From modern pop to classic rock, Godfrey’s mastered a varied repertoire over her 15 years as a pianist. Her longtime instructor, Joanne Chapman, says Godfrey is in the “top 10” of the “hundreds of students” she’s taught.

“What’s special about her isn’t just her talent,” Chapman said. “It’s her enthusiasm. It’s what she applies to everything, whether it’s sports or music or whatever she’s doing. That’s what sets her apart.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UNCUT at UVA (@uncutatuva)

With her family’s upright piano too much of a burden to move some 690 miles from her native Fleming Island, Florida, Godfrey first arrived at UVA with the electric keyboard her parents bought her for high school graduation.

The instrument has remained in Charlottesville, serving as a source of entertainment whether in a dorm room or apartment.

“She can read any music,” said Laughlin Ryan, Godfrey’s roommate and fellow Wahoo soccer player. “If you put notes in front of her, she’ll be able to learn it and play it. It’s insane.”

It’s also therapeutic.

After earning ACC Freshman of the Year, and then a second-team All-American nod as a sophomore and a first-team All-American honor as a junior, Godfrey was forced to miss the 2023 season after tearing the ACL in her right knee during the team’s spring tour of Italy.

The injury, which required a medical redshirt, devastated Godfrey. Time spent on the keys helped her persevere.

“Once I got off crutches and was able to just kind of sit there, it was great,” Godfrey said. “You just get to forget about whatever you’re doing at that moment, find a song that you really like, and just play.

“I play one song … oh, I’ll play another song; oh, keep going, play another song. I mean, I could go for 30 minutes to an hour just relaxing, playing random songs, different genres, anything.”

Godfrey, who has a bachelor’s degree in biology and is on track to receive her master’s in public health in December, has always been a quick learner. Chapman said Godfrey “excelled from the very beginning” of piano lessons, showing an early command of Chapman’s rigorous theory books.

“She always had lots of music available that you could ask her for,” Godfrey said. “And you were free to learn that once you would learn all the basics, made it through all the steps. It was so worth it, because now I find music or songs that I want to learn. Or my teammates or friends will ask me to learn a song, and I can just pull it up, find the sheet music and play it.”

Godfrey standing behind a grand piano in her UVA soccer uniform holding a soccer ball on the lid of the piano.

Godfrey, a well-rounded UVA star, stands in front of a grand piano at Carr’s Hill. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” count among Godfrey’s favorites, but she can also adjust with the calendar, playing Halloween themes in October or Christmas classics in December.

“A lot of the Tim Burton movies have really good music,” she said.

Godfrey’s final recital, performed during her senior year of high school, closed with an ensemble of Queen hits, including “We Are the Champions.”

An encore of the popular power ballad is still on hold as top-seeded UVA, beginning with Friday’s first-round game against High Point University, is six wins from an NCAA title.

“We’ll save playing that again when the time comes,” Godfrey said. “We don’t want to jinx anything.”