With two goals, senior Chris Tierney led the Virginia men's soccer team yesterday to its first ACC victory in more than a month. Defeating N.C. State 4-1 in the opening contest of the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers continue on their quest for the ACC Championship crown today against Boston College.
Less than 10 minutes into yesterday's contest, Virginia (11-6-2) had already taken a two-goal lead. Sophomore Jonathan Villanueva put the Cavaliers up by one, and Tierney converted on a penalty kick in the ninth minute.
Having maintained their two-goal advantage throughout the first half, the Cavaliers notched their third goal at 61:00 when senior Matt Mitchell beat the N.C. State goalkeeper. Shortly thereafter, Tierney took a second penalty kick and extended the Cavaliers' lead to four.
As the game drew to a close, the Wolfpack (6-9-3) finally got on the scoreboard with an own goal by Virginia.
Getting out to a large lead early, the Cavaliers were able to manage players' minutes in anticipation of today's quarterfinal contest against No. 1-seeded Boston College.
Earlier this year, the two teams battled at Klöckner Stadium. Though the Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead, the Eagles won the close contest 2-1. The winner of this afternoon's match will rest for a day before continuing to Friday night's semifinal game.
-- compiled by Megan McDonald