Nico Colaluca scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as No. 1 Virginia remained undefeated, vanquishing West Virginia 2-1.
The Cavaliers (8-0-0) claimed their third overtime victory in a row to turn the No. 8 Mountaineers down in Virginia's first game this season as the top-ranked team in the nation.
In the 58th minute, Adam Cristman and Jonathan Villanueva assisted Colaluca, who scored the first goal of the game from 12 yards out.
"One thing [Villanueva] can do is run at the fences and slip balls to our forwards," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "In that case, it was Nico [Colaluca], and that was the perfect example. He put the perfect ball into Nico's run. Nico did a great job slipping it under the goalkeeper. He put it in the perfect spot."
One minute later, junior midfielder Sean Hinkle exited the game on a red card.
"There's no doubt it threw us out of whack," Gelnovatch said.
Virginia took 20 shots in the game, and WVU goalkeeper Nick Noble registered eight saves for the Mountaineers. The Cavaliers were unable to score for the rest of regulation.
In the 78th minute, forward Jarrod Smith evened the score at one, hitting a shot from six yards out off a deflection.
Time ran out, and the Cavaliers went into overtime again.
"Generally, what I tell them is 'Let's keep our composure,'" Gelnovatch said. "Having been out there three games, keeping our composure, I feel like the guys know they're going to win going in to overtime."
In the 92nd minute, Colaluca got the ball again, took a shot and Noble deflected it. Immediately after, Colaluca got the ball again, took another shot, and scored the game-winning goal.
"I wasn't sure I'd have another chance," Colaluca said. "So I was disappointed I missed the first one. But then, ten seconds later, it came back to me."
Colaluca finished with nine shots, five shots on goal and two goals.
"He's already scored as many goals as all of last year, maybe all of his career," Gelnovatch said. "He's also defending. He's chasing back, and he's really becoming a complete player."
With the Cavaliers now ranked No. 1, each opponent is gearing up for a greater challenge when they play Virginia. Regardless of their ranking, the Cavaliers say they approach every game in the same manner.
"I'm not overly concerned being No. 1," Gelnovatch said. "I think we're used to being a target, and I don't think it's too much of a factor for us."
Although Virginia is undefeated, each victory this season has been by either one or two goals. Three of seven victories have been in overtime. Virginia has been playing its opponents closely, and Gelnovatch feels the team can learn a lot from their close matches.
"We're living on the edge, to some extent," Gelnovatch said. "Statistically, we're winning all of our overtime games, so we're doing something right. If we can win along the way and learn from these kind of games, then that's great."
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