Virginia played its way to a 3-0 victory last night over Liberty University, registering three goals in the second half to secure the win.
The Cavaliers squandered multiple opportunities in the first half of play, with 14 shots resulting in zero goals. While the nil-nil halftime score can somewhat be attributed to Virginia's lack of concentration, it can also be accredited to the play of Liberty's goalkeeper Kevin Mahan. Mahan repeatedly denied the Cavalier barrage, keeping the Flames in the game. The Liberty offense, on the other hand, was non-existent throughout the match with three shots on the night, only one of which was taken on goal. This resulted in an easy night for Virginia keeper Ryan Burke, only being called on to make one save.
Even though the Cavaliers weren't getting results in the first half, they started the second half with the necessary confidence and energy.
"It's frustrating, but at the same time you're so close you can feel [the first goal] coming," sophomore forward Adam Cristman said. "You just keep pushing, keep working and it eventually comes and you get the goal."
The "eventually" part has been the problem lately for the men's soccer team. Last Saturday in a 2-1 win against N.C. State, Virginia had multiple chances to put the Wolfpack away in the second half but failed, almost allowing a late fluke goal that would have tied the match.
Last night, the offensive breakthrough came from freshman midfielder Jeremy Barlow with 37:53 remaining in the second half. It was Barlow's first goal of his collegiate career and came on a perfectly-aimed cross from Cristman. After receiving the pass, Barlow chipped it into the far corner to give Virginia a 1-0 lead. Upon completion of the kick, Barlow took a vicious shot to the ribs during a collision with the Liberty keeper.
"He knew that we needed that goal," Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. "He was just gonna suck it up and take a shot in the ribs, and that broke the game open."
The Cavalier attack got a much needed boost from sophomore Ian Holder when he scored on a laser strike from the top right corner of the box with 23:07 remaining, slipping it past the Liberty keeper into the far left corner of the goal. Holder, who has recently been coming off the bench early in the second half, seems to add a pizzazz not present in the starting line-up.
"Right now, he's better for us coming off the bench and giving us 30 minutes when other teams are tired," Gelnovatch said.
Holder, who has scored three goals on the season, couldn't be happier with his role.
"Coming off the bench I have to go 100 percent," he said. "When I go out there it's just sheer energy. I'm just trying to lift the team with anything I can do and luckily I'm scoring goals."
While Gelnovatch isn't concerned at the moment with his team's inability to capitalize on first half opportunities and put the opposing squad away, he recognizes what it takes and what is needed to finish.
"I felt like one goal would break this team," Gelnovatch said referring to Liberty. "In a game like this, you get one goal against a team that you're going after, and going after, and going after, I think that with the fresh bodies we could break them a bit."
Break them they did, and on this night, not even infamous Liberty President Jerry Falwell could provide some offense for the Flames, or stop the Cavalier offense from registering their thirteenth-straight win in the series.
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