NORFOLK -- It had to happen sometime. After pitching five straight shutouts to start the season, the Virginia defense finally showed cracks in a seemingly concrete facade. Old Dominion took the lead with 20 minutes remaining in the first-half and refused to relinquish it throughout the next 65 minutes of play. The Cavaliers, playing from behind for the first time this season, could not muster an effective counter-attack against the Monarchs and fell 3-0 in front of 1,631 fans in Norfolk.
"I don't think either team was good tonight," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "I was surprised with the lack of energy both teams exhibited at the start of the game. Our goalkeeper [Ryan Burke] made a big time mistake and our centerback [Matt Poole] passed the ball right to the other team and that was the difference in the game."
The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes due to a local power outage. Once the game got underway, it took the shape of a major defensive battle for the first 25 minutes. Old Dominion grabbed the lead, however, when forward Brian Cvilikas beat Virginia goalkeeper Ryan Burke to a ball popped up in the air by ODU defender David Horst. Cvilikas headed it into the right side of the net.
"Ryan Burke made a big mistake on that play and I think he knows it," Gelnovatch said.
The Cavaliers were unable to create quality scoring opportunities throughout the game. Forwards Yannick Reyering and Adam Cristman seemed to be neutralized by Old Dominion's defense, and Virginia's midfielders and defenders were ineffective at moving the ball forward and connecting on passes to the Cavalier forwards.
"We weren't doing a good job of holding the ball and making good timed runs," Cristman said of his and Reyering's play. "We weren't connecting well and when we did get close chances, we didn't take advantage of them. I take a lot of responsibility. We didn't have energy and it wasn't working today."
The atmosphere turned tense in the latter part of the first-half as numerous pushing and shoving incidents occurred between players of both Virginia and Old Dominion. With 9:31 remaining in the half, Virginia midfielder Dane Murphy received a yellow card for pushing an Old Dominion player to the ground with a shove to the back.
Virginia had not played a game at Old Dominion since a 1-0 loss in 1997. Gelnovatch hopes that Virginia gets another shot at Old Dominion this season.
"I would love to play them again," he said. "I hope to see them in the playoffs."
The Cavaliers will barely have enough time to unpack from their trip to Norfolk before a Friday flight to Boston in preparation for Saturday evening's showdown with No. 19 Boston College. A team's ability to move on from a devastating loss is a key component of achieving success over a long season.
"This game was a wake-up call," Cristman said. "But it may have not been the worst time of the season to have a reality check."
In the immediate aftermath of the loss, however, the Virginia Cavaliers appeared to only feel dejected about their subpar performance Wednesday night.
"Get these jokers on the bus," coach Gelnovatch said to one of his assistants following the game.
That line sums up what all Virginia soccer players must have been feeling.
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