CLEMSON, S.C. -- The Cavaliers muscled their way to a win yesterday, overcoming a competitive Clemson squad.
No. 15 Virginia (11-2, 3-1 ACC) and the Tigers (7-5, 2-2 ACC) battled throughout the physical and emotionally charged match -- 21 fouls were called on the Cavaliers and 16 on the Tigers.
"That's an ACC game," sophomore forward Adam Cristman said. "That's just how it is; it's like a war out here."
The emotion was intensified by the closeness of the game. After Cristman knocked one in 18 minutes into the contest, neither teams put one in the back of the net until the final countdown.
With 13 seconds left in the game, the Cavaliers put an exclamation mark on their win by scoring a second goal. Paul Johnson managed to capitalize off of a Clemson miskick and stole the ball just inside the Tigers' half. Johnson was one-on-one with the goalie and tapped it over to freshman Chris Tierney, who slid it past the Clemson keeper.
Tierney is one of five freshmen who have scored their first collegiate goal this season, proving the impact the recruiting class has had on the team.
Virginia's two goals came off of two of the relatively few offensive opportunities either team had, especially in the second half. After the break each team had only two shots. The majority of the action occurred in the midfield.
"We're on the road, we're winning one-nothing and we're trying to get the second one but we're trying to be smart," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "We just wanted to keep them off the board and wear them down. They executed the game plan very well."
It did not come easy for the midfielders, however. The scrappy play from both teams made it difficult for the midfielders to make offensive transitions.
"We were [struggling] because they were playing with a lot of midfielders, so it made it hard for us to get it up to the forwards," said freshman Nico Colaluca. "I was trying to drop back and then either dribble up or play up."
Colaluca's struggle was especially intense -- he seemed to bear the brunt of the Tigers' aggression. Colaluca was visibly rattled by several fouls, as well as by several attacks that were not called.
"I was trying to stay focused but every time I got the ball they were pretty much whacking me," Colaluca said.
Colaluca was not the only one struggling to keep his head in the game.
"Sometimes these games get so scrappy and there are fouls and if the ref starts missing them you can get a little out of whack and start worrying more about the ref than just focusing and playing," Cristman said.
Despite the difficulties, the Cavaliers were able to come out on top. Virginia also increased its series record against Clemson to 20-18-5 with the win. The last time they met, Virginia overcame the Tigers with penalty kicks in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
The victory also helped continue the Cavaliers impressive offensive record. Virginia has outscored their opponents 31 to 10 this season. They also have outshot their opponents 190 to 97.
The Cavaliers will next face Longwood on Wednesday before turning back to conference play next weekend against the No. 16 Blue Devils.
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