After spending a strenuous week on the road, the No. 24 Virginia men's soccer team returns home tomorrow night to square off against Liberty in the first of four straight home matches. The Cavaliers (4-1-1, 1-0-0 ACC) are eager to face the Flames (2-1-0, 0-0-0) after a hard-fought ACC opener, during which Virginia secured a 1-0 victory against rival Duke.
Sophomore forward Brian Span, the team's second-highest scorer, tallied the Cavaliers' lone goal against the Blue Devils within the first two minutes of the game.
"It made a huge impact," Span said. "The goal caught them off-guard and put Duke in a tough situation. For us, it made us more comfortable."
Meanwhile, freshman goalkeeper Spencer LaCivita made four clutch saves - including one on a late Duke penalty shot - to ensure the tight victory. While the opening and closing minutes of the game may have been the most intriguing moments of the bout, the entire game challenged the Cavaliers' intensity and physical endurance. The matchup featured 34 fouls, 24 of which were charged to Virginia, and several of the Cavaliers, including senior defender Hunter Jumper, were called upon to play all 90 minutes.
Coming off the trying battle, the Cavaliers hope to rely on their fans to help them plow through potential fatigue and avoid a letdown.
"We're excited to play at home," Span said. "We're glad we got a couple of wins already, and now we have to make sure we don't get too comfortable. We won't have those Duke fans yelling at us to play badly, so it'll definitely be different."
Virginia, which plays 10 of its next 13 games at home, will especially focus on not overlooking its in-state foe as memories of last year's close game between the two programs remains fresh in the minds of many of the team's members. Last September, Virginia barely snuck by the Flames 2-1 with the go-ahead goal coming off a nail-biting penalty kick from then-sophomore midfielder Ari Dimas during the last 10 minutes of play. This season, Liberty returns eight of 11 starters - including its top two scorers
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