General soccer reasoning follows that if one team amasses more shots, dominates possession and commits fewer fouls it will earn a victory more often than not, whether at home or on the road.
In Newton, Massachusetts Friday, common logic abandoned the 10th-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team (7-2-2, 2-2-1 ACC) as it lost 2-1 to Boston College (8-3-1, 3-2-0 ACC). The Cavaliers outshot the Eagles 12-4, earned 13 corner kicks and, per their counterattacking strategy, induced 15 fouls by BC to just 10 of their own.
While seemingly dominating the score sheet, the Cavaliers struggled with the artificial turf at Newton Campus Field and ceded the game’s first score just 34 minutes in. After sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell parried sophomore midfielder Mohammed Moro’s shot, freshman forward Simon Enstrom finished the rebound for his fourth goal of the season.
While Virginia continued to dominate play, the team was unable to break through to even the score for the rest of the first half, nor in the first 15 minutes of the second. In fact, it was the Eagles who provided excitement once again, when Enstrom found the back of the net in the 59th minute.
Off of junior midfielder Zeiko Lewis’ flick, Enstrom finished past Caldwell, doubling the lead and putting the Cavaliers on the back foot once again. Although the Cavaliers looked to be down and out, they turned to a familiar face to lead a comeback attempt.
In the 86th minute — amidst chaos in the Eagles’ penalty area — redshirt sophomore defender Wesley Suggs and junior defender Patrick Foss — whose two free kick goals beat Louisville last week — combined to find freshman midfielder Jean-Christophe Koffi in front of net. The former DC United Academy star finished his second goal of the season, putting the Cavaliers in attack mode just before the final whistle.
Virginia’s desperate final minute effort nearly paid dividends as freshman midfielder Derrick Etienne got free with under 60 seconds remaining and fired a blistering shot, causing sophomore goalkeeper Cedric Saladin to make a tremendous save to preserve the Boston College lead and secure victory.
Virginia’s next game is against American Tuesday night at Klöckner Stadium.
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