Virginia men’s soccer notched a 1-0 victory against Virginia Tech Wednesday night in the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship held at Klöckner Stadium.
The game presented a showcase of the intensity that both fans and players alike have come to expect from the commonwealth’s premier soccer rivalry. With regular season matchups always physical, the teams’ first-ever postseason meeting proved no different.
In a match that featured five yellow cards, a red-card and a missing front tooth for senior defender Kyler Sullivan, the Cavaliers had their depth and composure tested. Fortunately, they passed.
Junior midfielder Todd Wharton converted a penalty kick for No. 15 Virginia (10-5-2, 4-3-2 ACC) in the 55th minute, which ultimately proved sufficient to take down Virginia Tech (7-8-2, 2-6-1) for the second time this season. Virginia will now advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament Sunday.
“[Coach] George [Gelnovatch] actually said that might be our hardest game of the tournament,” Wharton said. “Just mentally and physically, knowing it’s a rivalry game, it’s good to get that out of the way.”
Just as in their previous match in September where Virginia outshot the Hokies 18-4, the Cavalier offense reigned supreme — this time outshooting Virginia Tech 20-9. Senior midfielder Eric Bird took the first of Virginia’s 12 first half shots less than 60 seconds into the game.
After two-consecutive shots from junior forward Darius Madison, Virginia found its first of several near misses in the 12th minute.
Sophomore midfielder Nick Corriveau sent a cross from right to left to a cutting sophomore forward Riggs Lennon, who saw his header bounce off the crossbar.
One minute later, the Cavaliers had another play they would want to re-try when Bird anticipated a run by Wharton and hit him in stride behind the Hokie defense. In a one-one situation with the goalkeeper, Wharton’s shot went inches wide of the right post.
“That’s what we’ve been going through the whole year,” Gelnovatch said. “The last time we played Virginia Tech we should have scored two goals in the first half too, and it would have taken care of the game.”
Even as the Cavalier offense stole the show by taking the first six shots, the Virginia defense made a number of significant plays as the half wound down.
Senior goalkeeper Calle Brown snagged a high save in the 18th minute and then stopped a point-blank header off a Hokie corner in the 30th minute en route to four first-half saves. Sullivan and fellow senior defender Ryan Zinkhan also made acrobatic plays to halt Hokie possessions.
Still, the first half felt all too familiar to Virginia — stout defense yet missed scoring opportunities again provoked frustration among the Klöckner faithful. Seven different Cavaliers took shots — including four by Darius Madison — with nothing to show for their dominant effort.
“We’re doing all of the little things right,” Gelnovatch said. “Hopefully, just through pure odds, one of those is going to go in and it’s going to be really good for us.”
And in the 55th minute, luck finally turned in the Cavaliers’ favor.
Madison hugged the left goal line to beat his man and chip a ball to Lennon, whose header was tipped and clanked off the right post. But with Virginia Tech senior goalkeeper Ben Lockler out of position, Hokie junior defender Brad Vorv was forced to foul Virginia freshman midfielder Jake Rozhansky in the box to prevent a shot on the open net.
Wharton had a chance to redeem himself from earlier, and he did. Lockler guessed left and Wharton went right — giving the Cavaliers a well-earned 1-0 advantage.
“That’s usually where I go, so that’s where I planned on going,” Wharton said. “I saw the goalie move a little bit early, so I just stuck with my gut.”
The Hokies were already shorthanded after freshman forward Ricardo John, their leading scorer, left the game with an injury just three minutes in. But Virginia’s task was made easier in the 65th minute.
With the Cavaliers moving the ball upfield, Virginia Tech freshman midfielder Merlin Baus slid in and violently took down Zinkhan in front of the Virginia bench. Officials momentarily stopped the game to calm the skirmish and deal Baus a red card, forcing the Hokies to play undermanned the rest of the way out.
“I saw the whole thing right in front of me,” Gelnovatch said. “It was a bad tackle.”
As the half progressed, Virginia focused more on staying collected — which continued to prove difficult. But by substituting their forwards and midfielders in and out, the Cavaliers proved to be up for the challenge.
Virginia could not connect on a few opportunities, including breakaways by Madison and sophomore forward Sam Hayward and a 30-yard blast from Wharton. But the defense — as it has all season — held strong, with Brown collecting saves in the 77th and 84th minutes, allowing the Cavaliers to fight another day in the ACC tournament.
“This is a game you just have to get through,” Gelnovatch said. “It’s probably the matchup I would have picked the least just because of the rivalry and all the stuff that goes along with it. But we got through it, we got the win and a nice proper three-day rest too.”
Virginia will next travel to face the ACC tournament’s No. 1 seed Notre Dame Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Read More
After early fireworks, men’s soccer advances past West Virginia in NCAA Tournament
By Michael Liebermann | 4 hours agoVirginia scored its goals early and then hung on in a chippy game.
Virginia wrestling outmatched in dual with No. 8 Michigan
By Ryan Weiner | 4 hours agoThe Cavaliers fell into an early hole and could not crawl out.
Women’s basketball crushes Bethune-Cookman 82-48
By Victoria Blankenship | 6 hours agoVirginia overcame inefficient shooting early on, ultimately cruising to an easy victory.
