North Carolina fell victim to the No. 4 Virginia men's soccer team as the Cavaliers captured their first ACC conference win this past weekend with a score of 2-1.
"The win definitely means a lot for us," senior Chris Tierney said. "Going in, we kind of knew that the only result we were really going to accept out of this game was a win -- we had two ties in the conference and we really needed a win to get us going right and in the right direction within the conference."
The match against the Tar Heels certainly did help the Cavaliers move in the right direction: The three points earned in Saturday's victory propelled Virginia (7-1-2, 1-0-2 ACC) from sixth to fourth place in the ACC standings. With five total points, the Cavaliers now trail No. 3 Duke and No. 2 Wake Forest by just one and two points respectively. Conference leader Boston College, however, boasts a five-point lead over the second-place Demon Deacons. Having won all of their ACC contests so far, the Eagles have amassed 12 conference points.
Nevertheless, Virginia remains ranked ahead of Boston College in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. Tuesday's latest poll puts the Cavaliers at No. 4 for the second consecutive week, while the No. 11 Eagles just missed the top 10. Overall, five ACC teams are ranked among the top 15 this week, with only No. 2 Wake Forest ahead of Virginia.
Upward mobility in the standings and polls was not the only boon provided by Saturday's victory against North Carolina. In the all-time series, the two teams are now even at 33-33-7. Moreover, picking up their first ACC win relieves some of the pressure on this Cavalier squad and alleviates any fears about the quality of their conference play.
"Like our coaches told us before the game, it's just doing the little things right," junior Yannick Reyering said. "The little things decide the game -- that and your attitude ... In every ACC game, the way we approach it and the way we go into the game and the way we prepare for it is going to determine the outcome."
In addition to the team's win-focused mind-set, Reyering's first-half goal was critical in determining Saturday's result. In both of Virginia's previous ACC contests, N.C. State and Virginia Tech jumped out to early 1-0 leads, forcing the Cavaliers to battle from behind.
"It is always good to get an early goal -- then you have the lead and you can play and you don't have to push all the time," Reyering said. "Especially at Klöckner, when we go down 1-0, teams are just going to pack it in and defend as hard as they can, so it is always good to get the first goal."
Reyering tallied eight goals so far this season, making him the ACC's leading goal scorer. Also contributing to the Cavalier score board Saturday was Tierney. His career-high fourth goal of the season was a header into the net.
"I think the biggest thing we did right was make sure that we were doing all the little things right -- not just how we look with the ball but also the effort we put in off the ball," Tierney said. "I think we did a really good job of setting the physical tone of the game and not letting them get into a rhythm. The tone that we set in the game is really what I think got us the win"
Read More
Volleyball holds off Boston College in tight five-set win
By Lauren Halak | 54 minutes agoSenior outside hitter Elayna Duprey led the team throughout the match with 22 points and 18 kills.
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | YesterdayThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
