Senior goalie Ryan Burke's unbeaten record in penalty kick sessions ended as did Virginia's chances for three ACC championships in four years Friday night in the ACC semifinals against the No. 2 seed Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers struck first but were unable to hold on, eventually falling in penalty kicks, 4-3. For Wake, it is the second consecutive penalty kick victory in the tournament.
In the final session, sophomore forward Yannick Reyering struck first for Virginia, remaining perfect on the year. Junior midfielder Zola Short's shot was saved by Demon Deacon goalie Bryan Edwards, and Sam Cronin made his to give Wake the lead.
Virginia would tie it up going into the fifth frame when Lyle Adams's shot for Wake went high over the goal to make it 3-3. However, junior midfielder Jeremy Barlow's shot was saved by Edwards and Zach Schilawski nailed the ball in the back of the net to seal the victory for the Demon Deacons.
"You make your best guess," Burke said. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
Once again, Virginia was on the wrong side of a grueling contest with Wake Forest.
With less than 20 minutes to go in regulation it appeared the roles would be reversed between these top teams. Virginia outplayed their opponent Oct. 27 but lost. This time, Wake Forest bested Virginia in all facets, but an own goal in the 36th minute by Pat Phelan had given the Cavaliers the lead they needed.
However, a rough foul on a Virginia breakaway changed the complete complexion of the match. Adams held back a Virginia player from a one-on-one that could have broken the game open. The ire from Virginia coach George Gelnovatch earned himself and Adams yellow cards.
Four more yellow cards were issued to Virginia players in the next nine minutes, none more important than the one given to freshman defender Bakary Soumare. Soumare had received one for his physical play early in the second half and his second yellow resulted in a red card and his ejection.
Virginia was forced to scramble for its tournament life, and appeared it might hold on before Cronin received a backwards pass from Zach Schilawski to nail a shot past Burke with only 36 seconds left in regulation.
"You kind of have to sit in a little bit," Gelnovatch said. "When you do that against a good team, they're dribbling at you and putting balls in. One squirted out. People are tired. He got a pretty good look with 36 seconds left."
Virginia's effort was hurt early on when senior forward Adam Cristman came out for good in the 45th minute of the game with an undisclosed injury. His size and power would have been a huge asset in penalty kicks.
His loss was also evident in regulation -- Virginia once went 20 minutes without a shot, and 35 minutes without a shot on goal. In the end, Wake Forest outshot the Cavaliers, 23-9.
"I feel like we can definitely come back from this," Cristman said.
Still, despite all this, Virginia had one shot in overtime to escape with the improbable victory. In the 103rd minute, Barlow had the chance to be a hero when he powered a shot that tipped over the crossbar. Just like the out-of-bounds line had cost junior midfielder Nico Colaluca in the first meeting of these teams, this game was decided by a matter of inches.
Virginia must now sit and wait for their seeding in the NCAA Tournament. With a 14-3-1 record they will most likely get a first round bye and at least one home game.
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