Final scores are often misleading. A week ago the Virginia men's soccer team lost to the Southern Methodist Mustangs 5-1. Nevertheless, not a single Cavalier has referred to the game as a blowout.
"I actually didn't think that we played that badly," senior Jeremy Barlow said. "It was really the set pieces -- every time they got a free kick the ball would go into the net and that's what killed us."
Before returning to Charlottesville, Virginia rebounded from its first loss of the season. The Cavaliers beat Tulsa 2-0 last Sunday, regained some confidence and improved to 3-1-0 on the season.
As the Cavaliers prepare to take on St. John's Sunday, they appreciate the full week they had between games. The previous two weekends involved quick turnarounds -- one game Friday night and another Sunday afternoon. Now, with a long break, Virginia has had the chance to rest and to work on the weaknesses that SMU exploited.
"One thing that we do lack is size," sophomore Neil Barlow said. "So whenever we come up against teams that are a lot bigger than us, it is always going to be tough to defend them. We have to be very organized and have to have a plan -- figure out what we are going to do defensively, especially when they take free kicks."
Indeed, this season the Cavaliers are spending less time focusing on upcoming opponents. Instead, they are looking inwards, identifying the strengths they can exploit and the weaknesses they must correct.
"What we are doing this year a lot more is letting other teams prepare for us," Neil Barlow said. "We feel that we have the talent this year to let them analyze us. Really, if we can just play our game, then we can win."
Sunday marks the third meeting between the Cavaliers and the Red Storm, with Virginia up 2-0 in the series. Despite the previous success, the Cavaliers are well aware that they will face a formidable opponent this weekend.
"St. John's is one of the fittest teams in college soccer," Jeremy Barlow said. "They are very workmen-like and we are expecting a game where we are going to have to do nothing but work hard the whole time."
Sunday night's contest is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium. Since the beginning of the 2006 season, Virginia has posted a 16-1-0 record at home. According to sophomore Jonathan Villanueva, the atmosphere at SMU made him appreciate how a team can be thrown off by an opponent's crowd.Needless to say, all the Cavaliers are excited to return to their fans.
The players at St. John's "are going to be ready to play," Villanueva said. "We are going to try to use the home field advantage to our advantage and get a win"
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