In a game with few implications, Virginia men’s soccer finished off an unwavering Mary Washington squad that ranks No. 1 in NCAA Division III. Closing out the season on a high note at Klöckner Stadium, the Cavaliers (8-5-3, 3-3-2 ACC) matched their second-highest scoring total of the season in a 4-2 victory over the Eagles (15-1-1), who suffered their first loss of the season.
Early in the match, Virginia played as calm as the light autumn breeze that swept through Klöckner. Maintaining mostly the same starting 11 from the previous match — senior defender Austin Rome started in place of junior defender Parker Sloan — the Cavaliers yearned to set the tone early against a physical Eagles team that wanted to make its presence known. The visitors were playing their first Division I opponent since 2021, which was a 2-1 loss to Virginia.
Mary Washington’s self-inflicted wounds in the first half proved fatal, as the Eagles scored an own goal after a miscommunication on a back pass between the goalkeeper and a defender. Plenty of mishaps followed, with another Eagle header going wrong in the 37th minute, almost entering the top end of the net but hitting the crossbar.
Once the Cavaliers smelled blood, all they had on their minds was to run up the score. But they suffered a blow when graduate midfielder Daniel Mangarov went down with a minor injury in the 37th minute and had to be subbed off.
A minute later, Mangarov’s replacement, sophomore forward Cesar Cordova, wasted no time making an impact on the game. He played hot potato with the ball off of senior defender Paul Wiese’s throw in, leading to Wiese setting up freshman forward Joaquín Brizuela for a heated header into the net. Both Wiese and Cordova were credited with assists.
“Firework” by Katy Perry blasted on the stadium speakers after the Cavaliers’ second goal, summing up the waning moments of the first half as three minutes later the impeccable dribbling of Cordova into the thick of the Mary Washington defense led to another brilliant Brizuela goal. That blasted Virginia to a 3-0 cushion entering halftime.
At the beginning of the second half, Coach George Gelnovatch gave no hesitation in subbing out a plethora of starters, and in result, Mary Washington torched Virginia with goals in the 52nd and 72nd minute. The second goal came via a penalty kick by Mary Washington graduate defender Jared Dubose after a foul on junior midfielder Umberto Pelà.
The Eagles quickly gained the respect of Virginia fans as the stadium fell silent with a seemingly insurmountable three-goal lead now sitting at just one. Gelnovatch gave Mary Washington its flowers after the game.
“They are a Division I caliber team,” Gelnovatch said. “There's a reason why they're the top Division III school. I give them a lot of credit.”
Subbing the majority of the starting 11 back into the match helped pressurize the Eagle defense, and after a foul in the box by Mary Washington, sophomore midfielder Brendan Lambe knocked an easy penalty into the net, solidifying the Cavalier triumph.
Even though it was the last game of the regular season, it was still a game of firsts. Brizuela netted his first career brace, Lambe scored his first career goal and Cordova tallied his first two career assists. The purpose of this game was fulfilled as the Cavaliers now have momentum going into the ACC Tournament.
“This was a really important game, given the fact that we lost against Pitt,” Brizuela said. “It helps a lot getting confidence and feeling good for the next playoff game.”
Virginia now awaits its fate, as it no longer has control of its own ACC Tournament seeding destiny. The Cavaliers, which currently sit in seventh place in the conference, need two of Notre Dame, NC State and Southern Methodist to lose their final game Friday in order to stay in the top eight and host a first-round game. The Cavaliers will learn their fate and open tournament play Nov. 6.
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