The Virginia men’s soccer team found itself on neither the winning nor losing side of its Friday night matchup against Xavier, in what was a close, low-scoring affair. The No. 12 Cavaliers (1-0-1, 0-0 ACC) finished with 1-1 tie in a match that went the distance at Klöckner Stadium, concluding after two overtime periods.
Freshman forward Leon Maric, who scored Virginia’s lone goal, talked about the strange ending of the match, with neither team feeling the joy of a win, but also the disappointment of a loss.
“I mean, it’s not a loss, so it’s not as bad, but we were expecting more,” Maric said.
Coach George Gelnovatch talked about some of the opportunities the Cavaliers squandered, including their inability to score a second, go ahead goal using the momentum they gained after Maric’s goal.
“I do think we had the opportunity to win the game in that 15-minute stretch around the time we scored,” Gelnovatch said. “That was our time to get the second goal and win the game, which is exactly what we did last week. We just couldn’t get that second goal.”
Gelnovatch said the way Xavier (1-1-1, 0-0 Big East) was playing at the time made it difficult for Virginia to get the second goal that they needed to pull out a victory.
“But I give them credit because they [Xavier] threw their body in front of everything during that stretch,” Gelnovatch said. “They blocked things; they were pretty determined to make sure they got out of here with no worse than a tie, I give them credit for that.”
Virginia’s only goal of the game came within a thrilling few minutes of the second half of the contest, with the Cavaliers coming very close to scoring on two previous occasions, but failing to do so by the thinnest of margins. Virginia remained its focus and was able to convert on its third opportunity and tie up the match.
Maric mentioned the focus the Cavaliers needed, and maintained, even as they saw two opportunities to score slip away within seconds.
“It shows that we have a great team, we just want to keep going forward, like couple, one or two [missed] chances doesn’t faze us,” Maric said. “We keep going, trying to get the win.”
However, Gelnovatch was also quick to point out that despite a tie, and not a win, there were still plenty of positives the Cavaliers could take away from this match. He discussed how the Musketeers played very well, making it difficult for Virginia to do what it wanted at times.
“Of course, that’s a very good team. I’ve got to give them a lot of credit, they made it really tough for us,” Gelnovatch said. “I thought we played hard too; we’ve got some things we’ve got to work through.”
In addition, Virginia junior goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell had a terrific game, notching six saves to help Virginia stay in the match. Two of those saves came under high-pressure situations in the two overtime periods, highlighting Caldwell’s performance as even more impressive and clutch.
With the conclusion of their home stand, the Cavaliers will now pack their bags and head out for a two-game road trip. However, they won’t be going very far, for they stay in-state for a match against James Madison (0-3, 0-0 CAA), in Harrisonburg at 7 p.m. Monday. Virginia will then travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. for its first conference matchup of the season, taking on No. 20 Wake Forest (2-1, 0-0 ACC) Saturday at 7 p.m.
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