The Virginia men's soccer team enters tonight's ACC quarterfinal match with a 22-year streak riding on the line. The team is hoping not to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980.
The Cavaliers (8-9, 3-3 ACC) travel to Cary, N.C. tonight to take on the Clemson Tigers (9-7-2, 2-4). In the other quarterfinal games, North Carolina will square off against N.C. State and Wake Forest will face Duke. Maryland has earned a first-round pass by virtue of their first conference title since 1971.
After an up and down regular season, the Cavaliers hope to go deep in the tournament in order to have a shot at being invited to the NCAA tournament for a 23rd consecutive season.
Virginia coach George Gelnovatch knows the challenge facing his young team but does not see the task as impossible.
"I think there are three teams that would be strongly considered [for the tournament] at .500 or just under .500," Gelnovatch said. "Us, Portland and California. All have really strong schedules and have some good wins."
Last time out, the Cavalier's season-long offensive woes continued to plague the team in a 2-1 home loss at the hands of VCU. On the season, Virginia has accumulated only 22 goals in 17 games. Last year, the Cavaliers notched 55 goals, and leading scorer Alecko Eskandarian scored 25.
Sophomore defender/forward Paul Johnson said he expects the Cavaliers to break out of their collective offensive slump with perseverance.
"Last year, things came to us pretty easy," Johnson said. "This year, we're facing adversity, and it's just making us a stronger team.As long as people are positive, the goals will come."
When Virginia defeated Clemson by a score of 3-2 nearly a month ago, however, the team rode to victory on the strength of goals by freshman Adam Cristman, junior John Hartman and freshman Will Hall.
A similar effort will be necessary to defeat a strong Tiger squad for a second time this season. Likewise, it will be critical for Virginia to draw first blood against Clemson. Overcoming a deficit of even a single goal has not been a trademark of the offensively-challenged Cavaliers.
Junior midfielder Zane Hill knows the task ahead will be tough but expects the team to come through.
"We've beaten Clemson before," Hill said. "So we know we can do it: it's just a matter of doing it."
On defense, Virginia will look to slow the Tiger duo of senior Andre Borges and junior Charlie Roberts. The two are tied for the team lead in goals scored with five apiece.
Fortunately for the Cavalier defense, first team All-ACC senior Matt Oliver is expected to be back in action after missing the last four regular season games with a pulled hamstring. Gelnovatch is certainly aware of the importance of Oliver's presence.
"Without [Matt], we're not as hard in the back," Gelnovatch said. "That's a big factor, not having him in there."
With a win over Clemson, Virginia would move on to square off in the semifinals against the winner of the Wake Forest-Duke matchup. A loss, however, would leave the Cavaliers with a longer off-season than they have grown accustomed to in the past two decades.
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