Beginning a new ACC season last night against Wake Forest, the No. 2 Virginia men's soccer team relied on a tried and true combination to post a 1-0 win. Led by Kyle Martino's midfield wizardry and forward Alecko Eskandarian's left foot, the Cavaliers made a first-half score stand up as goalkeeper David Comfort recorded the first shutout of the season for Virginia (4-0-1, 1-0 ACC).
The Cavaliers overcame poor passing and proved their resilience against the Demon Deacons in a physical match where Virginia co-captain Marshall Leonard received a yellow card only three minutes into the game and Wake Forest recorded only two shots on goal.
"We were not good at passing tonight," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "It's one of the trademarks of our team, but tonight we were in a little bit of a funk."
Wake Forest mounted its most sustained pressure of the game early, with the Demon Deacons' first chance coming in the second minute on a free kick from just outside the Virginia penalty area. The stellar combination of defenders Leonard and Matt Oliver stymied that charge and subsequent attacks.
The Klockner Stadium crowd of 1,203, somewhat restless throughout the game, experienced its one moment of delirium in the 35th minute when Eskandarian scored the game-winning goal. Martino received the ball from Jonathan Cole, worked his defender over and chipped the ball to Eskandarian, who was 15 yards from the front of the goal. Trapping the ball off his chest, Eskandarian sent a left-footed rocket past stranded Wake Forest goalkeeper William Hesmer into the back of the net.
"It was a sequence where we were working the ball around really well," Martino said. "We had a rough time getting the ball around during the game, but in that sequence crisp, clean passes got me one on one on the outside. My man dove in a little bit, and I touched it by him and looked up. [Eskandarian] was streaking into the box, and I just tried to chip one in there anywhere close to him and see what he could do with it. He did really well, he took it off the chest and had a field day with the keeper, just went wherever he wanted."
The second half saw a number of near misses as Virginia looked for its second goal. Each time the Cavaliers threatened from close range, the Deacons were able to barely clear the ball from the goal-mouth scramble. Wake Forest's best chance of the game came with eight minutes remaining when Vicente Bastidas snapped off a volley from 10 yards out. Comfort reacted and made the save of the game, pushing the shot over the crossbar, and with it, the Deacons' last hopes.
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