After suffering a shocking upset loss to Clemson in the first round of last week's ACC Tournament, the Virginia's men's soccer team may be down, but it is by no means out.
Instead of dwelling on last Wednesday's disappointing result, the Cavaliers are taking full advantage of the unexpected time off before the start of next week's NCAA Tournament.
"It might be a blessing in disguise that we lost," junior forward Adam Cristman said. "Now we have plenty of time to rest and get the team back in order."
Virginia, which was the two-time defending ACC champion heading into this year's postseason, now faces an unfamiliar situation as it gears up for its next match.
"In each of the past two years, we came home with an ACC Championship and sat in the locker room with a party-like mentality," head coach George Gelnovatch said. "Our mentality this year is more on starting fresh and going over a lot of fundamental stuff. It's been a real healthy mindset at practice this week."
The Cavaliers (12-3-2) earned the No. 13 seed in the 48-team field and, consequently, received a first-round bye. The team will open its tournament play Tuesday against the winner of tonight's South Florida-Stetson matchup.
After an impressive regular season that was highlighted by wins over Seton Hall, West Virginia and St. John's, the South Florida Bulls (12-6-1) fell to No. 8 Connecticut in the Big East Championship. The Stetson Hatters, on the other hand, captured their first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Championship last week with an upset victory over the Campbell Camels. South Florida defeated Stetson 3-2 in overtime when the two sides met Oct. 19.
If the Cavaliers are able to stave off the Bulls or Hatters next week, they will likely be making a Thanksgiving weekend trip down to Chapel Hill to square off with the fourth-seeded Tar Heels for a spot in the Tournament quarterfinals.
"If we both win, our guys will be at a familiar place in Chapel Hill," Gelnovatch said. "We know the facility, the field and the team. I think that will definitely help."
If the Cavaliers are able to advance through to the quarterfinals, it will be the squad's first big win in over a month. Since defeating Duke in Charlottesville Oct. 16, Virginia has dropped games to Maryland, Virginia Tech and Clemson while winning just two matches against Liberty at home and in Winston-Salem against the unranked Demon Deacons. Moreover, the Cavaliers have allowed 10 goals in the five-game stretch while scoring only six.
Nevertheless, the team is confident it will be able to bounce back and extend its season when it counts the most.
"After we came back from the ACC Tournament, we had a good meeting, and I think we got refocused," Cristman said. "We've had some of the best practices all year since we got back, so it should be a good tournament."
Kickoff for the second-round match against South Florida or Stetson is slated for Tuesday evening at 7:30 at Klöckner Stadium.
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