CARY, N.C. -- The Virginia men's soccer team knows how to create a slippery situation. In the final moments of yesterday's 3-0 loss to Maryland, however, it became clear that that doesn't always work to the Cavaliers' advantage. Thursday, it was senior forward Sean Feeney's flagrant, red card-worthy foul against Duke. Friday, junior forward Alecko Eskandarian followed up with a powerful cross that elicited such confusion as to cause a Wake Forest defender -- a team that, at the time, was top in the nation -- to score on his own goal.
"That's their interpretation of soccer," Wake Forest coach Jay Vidovich said of the Cavaliers. "It's how they choose to play the game. It's not the way we choose to play, but it's their interpretation of the game."
But by Sunday, the North Carolina weather and the Maryland Terrapins had caught up with Virginia. Two days of steady rain and a hungry Terp squad muddied the ACC waters -- or at least the field at SAS Soccer Park -- enough to leave the Cavaliers reeling from Maryland's one flashy goal and pair of penalty shots, both made good on by Maryland's sophomore forward Abe Thompson. Virginia left the tournament with a No. 4 ranking and a bitter taste in its mouth.
"I think that we did very well creating chances," Coach George Gelnovatch said. "I thought Maryland scored one good goal; I don't feel that the second and third goals were deserved."
The Cavaliers went into Thursday's game on the heels of a seven-game win streak hungry for a win over the Blue Devils. Yet in the estimation of many onlookers and the Blue Devils, the Cavaliers' desire to win overshadowed their ability to play classy soccer.
"We were trying to play the game of soccer," Duke senior midfielder Donald McIntosh said. "But those guys aren't even trying to play."
Senior midfielder Ryan Kelly scored in the first half, and when Duke answered, it became clear that the Cavaliers had no intentions of losing. Senior forward Ryan Gibbs opened the second half with a goal of his own, and his team followed with a streak of aggressive play and opportunism. The yield was a pair of Eskandarian goals, five cautions for the Cavaliers -- four yellow, and Feeney's red -- and Virginia's passage into the next round of play.
While the Cavaliers were on a roll, they were still slated to face the No. 1 team, not only in the ACC, but also in the nation. Once again, Virginia came out with fire, grit and physicality.
The Cavaliers kept the pressure on, and when Eskandarian crossed in front of the Deacons' goal, Wake Forest junior defender Wiggy Saunders felt the pressure of Gibbs and junior midfielder Jacob LeBlanc coming in behind him.
In an effort to clear the ball, Saunders landed it in his own net. That goal, and Virginia's ability to quiet Wake's dominant junior forward Brian Carroll, sealed Virginia's 1-0 win.
Sunday, the Cavaliers' messy play was matched by Cary's wet weather and muddy field. For Maryland, the sting of loss to Virginia was still fresh, and they were ready to take on the seemingly illusive Cavaliers. More specifically, they were ready to feed Thompson the ball. Barely over four minutes into the game, midfielders Domenic Mediate and Scott Buete put together a series of passes that finessed the ball to Thompson, who was ready to place the ball in the far corner.
The Terps took the lead into halftime, and it was the first time in the course of the tournament the Cavaliers would fall behind, and they never would come back.
While Virginia's LeBlanc and sophomore defender John Hartman each added valiant attempts to Eskandarian's campaign of shots, the Cavaliers couldn't find the back of Maryland's net. While Virginia's forwards felt the pressure to score, senior goalkeeper David Comfort was twice left alone in the backfield to face Maryland's Thompson. While Comfort's lanky frame has typically been an asset in penalty shots -- adding to his uncanny ability to bail out the Cavaliers -- it became a weakness.
After Comfort was challenged in the box, his free kick was deflected into the hands of Virginia's senior defender Jonathon Cole. The result was Thompson's second goal, and was followed by another when the Cavaliers' take down of a Maryland forward in the box drew a second penalty shot.
"Sometimes you don't play well and you win," Cole said. "Sometimes you play well and you don't win. That's soccer."
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