The Virginia men's soccer team played the Virginia Tech Hokies to a 1-1 tie Friday night at Klöckner Stadium in front of a crowd of 7,906 fans. Junior forward Yannick Reyering converted a penalty kick goal in the second-half and sophomore goalie Michael Giallombardo saved a penalty kick, leaving the Cavaliers with a record of 6-1-2, 0-0-2 ACC, after drawing their Sept. 22 contest against N.C. State.
"The game was very good: Virginia Tech is a very good team," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "Thank goodness that we have great fans [and] great support."
This is actually the first-ever draw in the history of 26 meetings between these two teams. Prior to this match, Virginia owned a 23-2 advantage over Virginia Tech and was 1-12 at home in the all-time series dating back to 1975. The first two losses for Virginia came back-to-back in 1965 and 1966, but were followed by 27 straight victories for the Cavaliers from 1967 to 1999. In the last four matchups between these two teams, the Cavaliers are 1-2-1.
This in-state contest featured a lot of battling across the midfield to create space for either offense to set up. In the first-half, the Cavaliers struggled to find an offensive rhythm.
"The first-half was [a typical] first ACC home game, a lot of fans came, a couple guys [got] a little nervous," Reyering said. "You got to give credit to Virginia Tech -- they have an awesome team, they have a lot of hard working guys in the midfield and they made it really hard for us in the first-half."
Virginia Tech's goal came in the 34th minute on a quick cross from junior forward Roberts Edmans that junior forward Stefan Hock punched in from about 10 yards out.
The Cavaliers responded in the second-half on an electrifying penalty kick by Reyering in the 70th minute.
"One guy has to take the [penalty kicks] -- I try to step up whenever I can and take those [kicks]," Reyering said. "I'm just happy that it went in."
Reyering remains perfect on penalty kicks at Klöckner -- a fact that the Cavaliers do not rely on, though they feed on the confidence that comes with that kind of response to pressure.
"When he gets a [penalty kick], it's a very good feeling because he's very good with them," Giallombardo said. "You know you kind of live for that -- you live for that pressure."
Virginia dominated the second-half and the two overtime periods, taking 13 of their 19 shots after halftime. Reyering had two shots that deflected off the crossbar, including one in overtime.
The game almost slipped away from Virginia in the last minute of the second overtime period, when the Cavaliers were called for committing a handball inside the box. This infraction gave the Hokies a penalty kick and a chance to beat the Cavaliers. When the dust settled, however, Giallombardo made one of the biggest saves of the season and kept the game to a draw.
Giallombardo seemed to take the pressure in stride.
"I was just trying to read the play -- you know, you go through so many of those that you try to take the pressure off of yourself," Giallombardo said. "I guess I just read it the right way and made the save."
If Giallombardo's reaction reflects the high expectations of this year's team, Reyering's response shows the enthusiasm and confidence that allowed them to come out of the locker room and dominate the second-half.
"That's the biggest thing I've ever seen in my life -- saving a [penalty kick] with a minute and half left in such a game," Reyering said. "Mike is just unbelievable at saving [penalty kicks], and I had confidence in him."
The Cavaliers have a week off before their next match at home against North Carolina Saturday. And although they have not lost a conference game, Virginia looks to finally mark down its first ACC victory.
"We're going to build on this game," Giallombardo said. "Tonight wasn't our night, so we're going to walk away with a draw. We've got UNC next weekend, so hopefully that will be our first ACC win. We're going to prepare and we're going to come out ready to play that game"
Read More
Buchanan jolts arena with season-best performance
By Michael Liebermann | YesterdayRon Sanchez challenged his players to rebound better, and Buchanan answered resoundingly.
Third-quarter surge pushes women’s basketball ahead of Virginia Tech
By Lauren Halak | YesterdayVirginia conquered its rival, earning an ever-important ACC victory.
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | 2 days agoThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
