The Virginia men's soccer team extended its home shutout streak to four and brought its season record to 6-1-1 with a 4-0 victory over the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers last night at Klöckner Stadium.
After struggling to maintain a tenuous 1-0 edge for the majority of the match, the Cavalier offense ignited late in the second half to score three goals in a fifteen minute stretch and seal the win.
Not only did Virginia add another tally to its win column, it also managed to do so while resting a number of its key players. Notable absences from last night's starting lineup included junior forward Adam Cristman, sophomore midfielders Jeremy Barlow and Zola Short, senior midfielder Joe Vide and junior defender Lee Sandwina. While several of the regular starters were brought in during the second half, their play was limited to guard against the wear and tear of the five games the team has played in the last two weeks.
"We accomplished a lot by resting some players, getting a look at some guys that haven't played and getting the good result," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "It was a good night."
Despite a seemingly even possession battle in the early part of first half, the Cavaliers opened the scoring in the 25th minute when sophomore forward David Rosenbaum followed up the rebound of a Yannick Reyering shot and knocked home the game's first goal.
The back-and-forth play continued for the remainder of the first half and well into the second half with neither side being able to find its rhythm. In the 73rd minute, however, freshman forward Jimmy Taranto took advantage of a well-executed give-and-go pass from teammate Ian Holder on the right flank to beat Mountaineer goalkeeper Mark Murphy inside the near post.
Eight minutes later, another freshman forward, Nino DiMaggio added a third score by converting off of a pass from sophomore standout Jeremy Barker. On the play, Barker carried the ball forward through the midfield by beating several Mount St. Mary's defenders in quick succession. Upon reaching the top of the penalty box, Barker opted to push the ball to the right side where an unmarked DiMaggio hammered it into the back of the net.
The final Cavalier goal came in the match's last three minutes when junior midfielder Will Hall sent a long cross to senior midfielder Joe Vide on the right side of the box. After bringing down the ball, Vide fired a missile into the near side of the Mountaineer net for his first goal of the year.
Of the many positive notes that Virginia could take from last night's win, perhaps the most gratifying were the performances of several of the team's freshman attackers. In particular, Nino DiMaggio and Jimmy Tarantom each notched their first career scores during the fifteen minute frenzy that put the game out of reach.
"Everyone's always excited to score their first goal," Taranto said. "It's a big confidence booster for everyone."
What made the goals even more special is the fact that DiMaggio and Taranto each grew up playing on the same club team in northern New Jersey and faced each other often as players on rival high schools.
"Playing on the same club team was a good experience because when he comes in, we're used to playing with each other. So it's nothing new," Taranto said.
With the sour aftertaste of last week's loss to Old Dominion completely behind them, the Cavalier's next test comes Saturday night when they play host to the No. 3 Tar Heels of North Carolina.
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