The stands at Klöckner Stadium are becoming more and more crowded as the men's soccer season rolls on, and for good reason. Virginia is off to a 6-0-0 start, and their ranking as the No. 2 team in the nation is reflective of their ability to win against other top teams, as seen with victories over then-No. 21 U.C. Santa Barbara and then-10th-ranked UCLA. But, this is not to say that the victories have come easily -- five of the team's six wins have been by only a one-goal margin.
The most recent game, a 2-1 overtime win over St. Francis (PA), brought the Cavaliers' offensive struggles to light. It took a last-second goal in the 89th minute to send the game to overtime against the mediocre Red Flashes. But senior forward Ian Holder, who scored the game-tying goal with a header off a Jeremy Barlow corner kick, believes that narrowly escaping defeat proves the Cavaliers can play under pressure.
"I think it shows that we can come back from deficits," Holder said. "We were down in the N.C. State game and we were down in the St. Francis game" and won both games.
The mark of a great team is the ability to come through in the clutch, and the Cavaliers have shown they are capable of doing so. Nonetheless, Holder admits that the team needs to stay focused for all 90 minutes.
"We have to learn to get up early and manage the game better," Holder said.
The Cavaliers' ability to accomplish this task will be tested tonight, as Boston College comes to Charlottesville. The Eagles (3-2) are still flying high after upsetting No. 16 Virginia Tech (4-1) in overtime last Friday. Coach George Gelnovatch knows that the game tonight means a lot for the team's place in the standings, but also their morales.
"The one thing about a game like this is that it gets your attention -- to get a win and then to get a little kick in the pants," Gelnovatch said. "It was good to get the win [against St. Francis] but it also is a reminder to stay focused."
Gelnovatch is more optimistic about this weekend's match-up.
"The ACC games -- we don't really have a problem getting up for those," he said. "It's great competition. I would expect that these guys will be at their best on Friday."
If the Cavaliers are at their best and are able to defeat the Eagles, Virginia will become 7-0-0, which would be the team's best start in 13 years. That 1993 season was the third in a series of four consecutive ACC Championship and National Championship seasons, in which the Cavaliers (led by coach Bruce Arena) started 11-0 and finished 22-3 overall. But, as evidenced by the minor scare against St. Francis, the team cannot get ahead of itself, and must focus on the game at hand on a nightly basis.
So tonight's match-up boils down to this: Virginia's "cardiac kids" must try to improve on offense, which has been good enough to win, but has not played up to potential. Equally as important will be the defense's ability to stop the Boston College attack that launched 19 shots in their win against the Hokies. After not allowing any goals in the first four games, the Cavaliers have surrendered one in each of the last two games.
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