After losing twice to William & Mary last season, including a loss that knocked them out of the 2002 NCAA post-season in the second round, the Virginia men's soccer team (4-4, 2-0 ACC) desperately wanted a win over the Tribe (5-2). Yet the No. 7 Cavaliers were not able to get the victory yesterday night as they were upset by their in-state rival in a devastating 3-2 overtime loss.
With the Williamsburg campus shut down until Monday because of Hurricane Isabel, William & Mary fans composed a significant portion of the 1,794 spectators crowded into Klöckner Stadium last night. The green and yellow section of the bleachers was on its feet when junior Bryan Hinkle scored the game-winner for the Tribe with 1:59 remaining in the overtime period.
This was a match marked by the dominating play of the Hinkle brothers, one on each side. Freshman Cavalier Sean Hinkle, the brother of William & Mary's Bryan, made the shot at the 72:18 mark that tied the game at 2-2 and forced overtime. The brothers are fierce competitors.
"It's a great rivalry -- Virginia's a great team," B. Hinkle said. "Sean's going to be hearing about this win for a long time."
The Tribe took an early 1-0 lead 13:56 into the match when three-time All-CAA selection Phil Hucles made a shot from about six yards out. However, just 46 seconds later Virginia answered back, when junior defenseman Jeff Tuman headed in his first career goal off of a free kick by his teammate, midfielder Will Hall. Hall's assist was the first of his career.
William & Mary scored the match's next goal and took a 2-1 lead at the 36:40 mark. B. Hinkle sent a corner kick into the box and senior defenseman Kris Feldmann headed the ball past Cavalier freshman goalkeeper Ryan Best. The Tribe went into the locker room with a 2-1 lead at halftime.
After entering the second half with determination, Virginia rallied to tie the game at 2-2 off of S. Hinkle's goal, the first of his career. Junior forward Mike Littlefield passed over an open goal opportunity, brought the ball back, centered it and was then able to assist S. Hinkle, who put the ball in the right corner of the net.
Following the tying goal, the ball changed possession often between the two teams until William & Mary was able to end the game in sudden-death overtime.
The Cavalier's freshman goalkeeper Ryan Burke started the second half, playing for over 53 minutes and making his first career appearance. He pulled in a game-high three saves and was kept very busy in overtime, stretching his 6'1" frame to swat away the ball on more that one occasion.
"Ryan Burke, he did a great job," coach Gelnovatch said. "One of the bright spots of the game was his play."
However, the consistancy of the Tribe's offense in overtime proved to be too much, and Virginia was handed the upsetting loss.
Gelnovatch recognizes that his team struggles when they fall behind in games.
"We are not a good team at chasing games," Gelnovatch said. "When we start chasing games, especially a big, athletic team like William & Mary, it's difficult. I am confident that if we are not chasing the game, we will win.When you get down a goal, you extend yourself, which is what we did."
Read More
West Coast woes strike again as men’s basketball gets hammered by Stanford
By Emory Huffman | 32 minutes agoVirginia, once again in a lost season, looked aimless on the floor.
ISTVAN: Tony Bennett left Virginia in a hole
By Ben Istvan | 8 hours agoHis decision to retire doomed this men's basketball season.
