CARY, N.C. -- It was just 14 minutes into yesterday's game against Wake Forest when Virginia's Jen Redmond, on a pass from Sarah Huffman to Shannon Foley, kicked the ball along the left hand side of the net to give Virginia a 1-0 lead in the ACC quarterfinals.
The score remained the same until 10 minutes into the second half when Virginia scored again, cementing its lead -- but not for long. Just 21 seconds later, Wake Forest struck back with a goal of its own. Back in the game, the Demon Deacons pressed forward at every chance, refusing to rest. That is, until the last eight seconds of the competition, when the ball rolled out of play, effectively marking the end of the game and giving Virginia a 2-1 win.
"I thought we made what could have been a very easy game much more difficult than it should have been," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "We went up two nothing and we had a chance to really put them under, and then instead of getting the momentum and really carrying that over, we let them get back in the game."
Virginia had several chances even after Wake Forest's comeback goal to solidify its lead. Multiple times the ball was free in the box after Wake's goalie deflected it, but each time Virginia failed to gain possession and take a shot. At least twice the Cavaliers had open shots on goal that they failed to take, giving Wake's goalie time to capture the ball or the defense time to intervene. In one particularly aggravating play for Cavalier fans, a shot by Redmond bounced off the very bottom of the crossbar, subsequently rolling out of play.
When asked how many open shots he thought the Cavaliers missed Swanson said, "Counting the bruises on my hand from all the times I punched the bench, I'd say about six."
The frustration of this game is all the more potent because this year the Cavaliers know what is possible in the tournament. When Virginia claimed the ACC championship last year, it was not only the first time Virginia had earned the title, but also the game that snapped North Carolina's 15-year streak as conference champions.
"I think this is a whole new team from last year," Huffman said. "At the same time, we have great players and great first years that have stepped up. I think it's something positive where we proved ourselves last year, it's within our reach. Maybe before everyone thought, 'Oh it's just UNC who can win an ACC tournament.' Now, maybe it's 'Oh, University of Virginia, they did win last year, and maybe they can win again.'"
If this year's Cavaliers want to repeat last year's performance, they are not only going to have to grab more early leads -- of which yesterday's game was a rare example -- but also put the game away when the opportunity is there. Virginia's next game is against Florida State, another team, like Wake Forest, that Virginia defeated 1-0 in the regular season. The Cavaliers, however, have never been squeamish when it comes to close games
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