Displaying the increased maturity that has helped it rise to the top of college soccer, the No. 2 Virginia men's soccer team defeated a tenacious William & Mary side, 1-0, last night at Klockner Stadium.
Despite being overmatched from the opening kickoff, the Tribe held the Cavaliers (6-0-1) scoreless during the first half. Employing a defensive formation in which its players rarely ventured forward, William & Mary (4-3-1) recorded only one shot on goal, while Virginia compiled 12 corner kicks and had 17 total shots.
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The Cavaliers' dominating play went unrewarded until the 89th minute, when forward Ryan Gibbs was fouled as he ran into the box. Striding confidently to the spot, midfielder Kyle Martino stroked the ensuing penalty kick past helpless Tribe goalkeeper Trevor Upton into the lower left side of the net for the game-winning goal and his third score of the year.
The win was the Cavaliers' first against William & Mary since 1993 and followed similar last-minute losses to their in-state rivals the previous two years.
"It feels a little weird having it happen like that, a little ironic," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "But we'll take it any way that we can get it. William & Mary is a tough team to play against. They are a good team. They're very organized - one of the top teams in their conference."
Following on the heels of several tough early games, Gelnovatch said this Virginia team has something that his previous teams have not.
"In past years my team hasn't been mature enough to win these games against William & Mary," Gelnovatch said. "This year we have a mature team that stays focused regardless of whether it was going to take overtime, keeps plugging away, keep playing hard, and they did that through the game."
Martino agreed, saying the players were prepared for a hard-fought battle.
"We expected it to be one of those games where anything last minute could happen," he said. "We just kept pushing, getting chances, and Ryan did a great job to get the [penalty kick]. To their credit, William & Mary can create this kind of game, where they don't have a shot all game. All it takes is that one at the end."
At the final whistle, however, it was the Cavaliers that had scored, remaining unbeaten and posting their third consecutive shutout. The Virginia defense was solid when tested, with co-captain defender Marshall Leonard contributing slashing offensive runs on a number of occasions. Working through Martino in the midfield, the Cavalier attack moved the ball well and the team's patience was finally rewarded.
"I'm just happy that we won," Gelnovatch said. "In the second half, I actually thought we did very well"
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