It took 108 minutes, but Duke defeated the Virginia men's soccer team 2-1 Friday night. Although the Blue Devils have not lived up to expectations so far this season, their perseverance reminded everyone at Klöckner Stadium why they were ranked first in the national preseason polls.
"Any loss hurts now," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "And right now, I think we are beyond worrying about standings. Right now we have to get ourselves going a little bit. It is not character, it's not attitude, we are just in a funk a little bit, and we need to work through it."
In the first half, Duke and Virginia battled through the rain for possession and a chance to take the lead. As both teams entered their locker rooms at halftime, however, the game remained scoreless.
Sophomore Matt Mitchell put the Cavaliers on the board early in the second half. Leaping into the air, Mitchell one-timed senior Chris Tierney's corner kick into the Blue Devil's net.
Mitchell "has been working his tail off and I feel like he is going to be a guy who scores goals for us down the stretch," Gelnovatch said. "It was good to see him get that goal tonight."
As the game entered the 89th minute, it appeared that Virginia would capture its second ACC victory. Pressure on the Cavalier net finally paid off for the Blue Devils, however, as a Duke header found the back of the net, despite sophomore goalkeeper Mike Giallombardo's best effort, and sent the match into overtime.
With time about to expire in the second 10-minute overtime period, Virginia fans experienced a sense of déjà vu; the Blue Devils beat the clock once again to score the game-winning golden goal.
"It gave them the momentum, but I think we did pretty well in overtime," Giallombardo said. "Johnny [Jonathan Villanueva] almost [scored], but that's just the way the season is going right now. But although it is not going right, I think we have the players and the coaching staff to turn it around, and I think we will."
It was the third straight ACC match the Cavaliers (9-4-2) have dropped, falling to 1-3-2 in conference play. Adding insult to injury, the losses to Boston College and Duke have come on Virginia's home turf. In both instances, Gelnovatch said his Cavaliers lacked the intensity needed to win an ACC contest.
"The second half was better but the first half we were flat tonight," Gelnovatch said. "I am giving them Saturday and Sunday off -- maybe a little bit of it is physical and mental, so we are giving them a bit of rest. We are just going through a stretch right now that we need to get through and we need to get healthy."
Indeed, the Cavaliers have been plagued by injury these past couple of weeks. Junior forward Yannick Reyering, the ACC's leading scorer, sat out most of the Clemson game to nurse an injury. Virginia lost that match 2-1.
Seniors Jeremy Barlow and Matt Williams have also been on the bench recently. Barlow injured his knee during the Boston College game, and while he made an appearance during the second half of the Duke contest, he is clearly not at full strength. Williams was also missing from the traditional starting lineup Friday night.
"We have some guys banged up, and that has played a role in it too" Gelnovatch said. "Not having Matt -- he is one of our captains, so we are missing leadership going through a period like this. And Jeremy Barlow is a big factor -- he's not right either. There's no question that's part of it."
The Cavaliers, having rested this past weekend, return to practice today before taking the field once again tomorrow night.
"Losing hurts, but it's imperative -- it is so important -- that we just come back and turn it around and try our best to get back on the right side of the ball," Giallombardo said.
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