Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers announced the settlement of a three-year lawsuit last week that may affect Google Book Search partnerships with a number of academic institutions, including the University.

In the class-action lawsuit, filed by the Authors Guild in 2005, authors and publishers expressed concerns that Google’s scanning of books for Google Book Search violated copyright law. Under the terms of the settlement, which has yet to receive court approval, Google will pay $125 million to establish a Book Rights Registry, which will serve to pay authors and publishers of books that have been scanned already and to cover for the costs of the lawsuit. Academic institutions will also be able to purchase subscriptions to access the books Google Book Search scans.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Google has been scanning books for years to give students easier access to information.

“The purpose of the lawsuit and settlement — and we’re very happy about the settlement — is to create a market for books that are still in print but not very accessible,” Schmidt said. “Basically, [the books are] around, but they’re not easy to reach.”

The University’s opinion on the settlement remains uncertain. When asked to comment on forthcoming changes University users of the Google Book system can expect as a result of the settlement, Charlotte Morford, director of communications for the University Library, said it is too early to say.

The University “has been involved with the Google Book project since November 2006,” Morford said. “The benefit is primarily that it enables us to make digital collections available to students and faculty far more quickly than if we tried to do it ourselves.”

The University was one of the first 10 partners to join the project when it was originally launched, Morford said, and the University continues to have a unique relationship with the project.

“We do have very strong collections in American literature and history, and there may be some resources in there that other libraries do not have or don’t have copies,” she said.

The Harvard University Library, on the other hand, has announced it will no longer partner with Google Book Search.

“The settlement contains too many potential limitations on access to and use of the books by members of the higher education community and by patrons of public libraries,” Harvard University Library Director Robert C. Darnton stated in a letter to his staff, according to the Harvard Crimson. “The settlement provides no assurance that the prices charged for access will be reasonable … especially since the subscription services will have no real competitors [and] the scope of access to the digitized books is in various ways both limited and uncertain.”

Stanford University, the University of California and the University of Michigan recently supported the settlement in a press release issued by the Authors Guild.

“The settlement agreement provides an unprecedented and extraordinarily valuable service to the American public,” the press release states. “This is a service that libraries, because of copyright restrictions, could not offer on their own and goes well beyond what would have been possible.”

Morford noted the University of Virginia still needs to examine the settlement in detail.

“We will be reviewing the language of the settlement over the next few weeks, which was just received, and is quite lengthy,” she said. “Once we have done that review we’ll be able to report back to the broader University community on our recommendations.”

With the election just a couple days away, former Virginia governor and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner made an appearance at the University Sunday as part of a final push to gain support for the Democratic Party.

University Democrats hosted the event on the South Lawn to recruit volunteers to canvass, make calls and help out on Election Day. University Democrats President Sarah Buckley said her organization has been canvassing and knocking on doors every day for the last few weeks.

“The polling numbers are looking good, but that only pays off if we get the same numbers at the voting booths, so it’s not over yet,” she said.

The organization was grateful to have Warner’s support for its efforts to recruit volunteers for the run-up to the election, Buckley said.
Warner, calling himself a “radical centrist,” outlined the goals he plans to accomplish if elected senator. He spoke on various issues ranging from the economy to the energy crisis to building up the nation’s infrastructure. He proposed what he called a “creative solution” for saving the automobile industry and the environment.

“The next industry that’s probably going to ask us for relief is the auto industry,” Warner said. “Why don’t we ask every level of government — federal, state, local — to put a three-year purchase order [on cars] … on the condition that they produce vehicles that produce 100 miles per gallon and they’re made with American technology and are produced by American workers?”
College Republicans Chairman Savanna Rutherford, who did not attend the event, said she was not sure if Warner’s plan for the automobile industry sounded like a viable solution.

“I think certainly the auto industry is in trouble, but I think it’s kind of a slippery slope when the government starts bailing out all of these companies and agencies,” she said. “I think throwing money at the problem is not always the best or most realistic solution.

Warner also addressed the financial crisis on Wall Street, expressing He expressed his view that the government should not invest in failing banks as a long-term solution, but noted that he does see this approach as a short-term need.

“I know we’re going to be investing in these banks,” Warner explained, “I do want to make sure that if we are investing in the short term, that we get the same benefits that Warren Buffett got when he invested in Goldman Sachs.”

Warner expressed his support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and U.S. congressional candidate Tom Perriello, whose spokeswoman, Jessica Barba, also appeared at the event and encouraged voters to vote Democrat straight down the ticket.

“If we make sure that everyone who votes for president votes down the ticket for Perriello,” she said, “we will walk away with one of the biggest upsets in the country” against incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode.

The main focus of the event, though, was turning Virginia Blue. David Slutzky, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member, said the last days before the election are extremely important for voter turnout.

“For the first time since 1964, Virginia might vote Democratic,” Slutzky said. “If it does, our 13 electoral votes might well be the difference between victory and disaster.”

Rutherford, however, said she still remains optimistic that Virginia will continue to be a Red state after Tuesday.

“I know the poll numbers indicate we should be a little less optimistic, but it isn’t over until it’s over,” she said. “Things in Virginia are looking different than they have in the past, so it’s motivating College Republicans to get involved.”

Rutherford added that like the University Democrats, the College Republicans are continuing to knock on doors and make phone calls to urge people to vote.

Originally, Warner’s appearance was scheduled to take place on the Lawn near the Rotunda; however, because of logistical issues, it was moved to the South Lawn.

Recent College graduate Maggie Thornton, a former Cavalier Daily News editor who has been working in the Obama office on the Corner for the past week, said the location change took place because Lawn Head Resident Advisor Christian West said too many people were present and noted that the Lawn is a private residential community.

Thornton noted that the Washington Literary Society and Debating Union and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society were holding an event on the Lawn that was allowed to continue, despite the large crowd and loud noise. Thornton suggested the political nature of the event may have been the reason it was banned from the north part of the Lawn, but “that was not the reason given.”

West said the event was moved because the Undergraduate Record states that no stable constructions, such as the stage upon which Warner stood, are to be placed in the upper area of the Lawn, except for University-sponsored events such as graduation and Convocation.

He also noted that the political nature of the event also called for consideration.

“By holding it in the middle of the Lawn, the University could have been perceived to be endorsing Warner’s campaign,” he said. “And that is something the [Office of Public Affairs] is very sensitive to.”

As the country’s economic troubles continue, University students are getting a good deal, according to Kiplinger, which placed the University third in its 2008-09 Best Values in Public Colleges rankings.

Kiplinger Senior Associate Editor Jane Bennett Clark said Kiplinger — a personal finance and business forecasting company — bases its ranking on cost and quality measures, using criteria such as test scores of incoming freshmen, student-to-faculty ratio and graduation rates, as well as total in-state and out-of-state costs. Clark said the University has a 93-percent six-year graduation rate and one of the lowest costs for in-state students after financial aid.

“Quality is the most important criterion, because it’s not a bargain if you’re not getting [a] good education,” Clark said. “Cost is important especially in these bad economic times. We look for great quality at an affordable price.”

Clark said the University has consistently been ranked in the top five of Kiplinger’s annual report. This year, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Florida claimed the first two spots.

University spokesperson Carol Wood said though the University is uncertain how important undergraduate rankings are to incoming students and their families, those families will be looking for the best values now more than ever, and the University may see more in-state applications.

“If you look at the state of Virginia, we have such a great array of higher-education opportunities across the state,” Wood said. “Applications to our school and our sister state schools might go up.”

Wood added that students will also look for the best financial aid package, noting that because of the recent economic downturn, the University has begun to prepare for the possibility of having to enlarge the AccessUVa budget for next year.

Wood said the University considers these ranking placements important but does not actively seek high rankings.

“If you do the right things with academic programs and good financial management and continue to have a great undergraduate experience, the rankings will follow,” Wood said. “We keep an eye on them but you don’t manage to the rankings … we will continue to do the good job that we do and continue to be responsible in managing the University’s finances, and we hope the University will continue to be top-ranked.”

Despite the economic downturn, the 2008 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign received over $135,000 in its first two weeks, according to the CVC Web site.

“The [CVC] is simply a tool that makes giving and supporting employees’ favorite charities easier,” CVC Chair Jim Fitzgerald said. University employees are able to donate to any of 1,400 CVC-approved charities through the campaign, which began Oct. 13, and students can also channel earnings from fundraisers for any of those charities through the CVC. One hundred percent of each gift goes directly to the charities, Fitzgerald said.

Because of the current financial situation, the CVC anticipates receiving less money in donations this year than in past years. Although University employees donated a record $888,888 through the CVC last year, Fitzgerald said, “this year, in light of the economic downturn that’s occurring nationally, we are more realistic about how well the campaign will do in terms of dollars raised.”
He said the CVC is “a little bit behind” where it was last year in terms of dollar donations but attributed this mainly to the times when reports are conducted.

“We’re very aware of the sacrifice that many employees will make this year to continue supporting their favorite causes at levels they have in the past,” Fitzgerald said. “The gist of it is there’s probably less disposable income this year than there was in previous years.”
“Times are tough,” said Tim Eckert, Student Affairs representative for the CVC. “I get that, and I know it’s hard to fill the gas tanks, it’s hard to get food on the table.”

Eckert works to increase participation in the CVC, he said, especially by emphasizing the fortunate position of University employees, who have been promised job security.

“We’re still able to give back to the charities,” he said, “and every little bit helps.”

Fitzgerald explained the importance of the CVC, pointing out that outside the University, charities are having difficulties obtaining levels of financial support similar to those in the past.

“Charities both nationally and right here in our local area rely on the generosity of U.Va. employees,” he said. “For many of them, the CVC donations they receive are their biggest line item in their budget, or the biggest one-time donation they may receive.”

Donations through the CVC have skyrocketed in recent years, Fitzgerald said, and he believes the current economic turbulence will not keep University employees who recognize that need from donating, even if less money is donated overall.

“For us it’s not only about the dollars raised,” Fitzgerald emphasized, but about the level of participation. Though figures of total dollars donated will not be available until the end of the 2008 campaign, as of Friday about 1,100 gifts had been donated through the CVC, Fitzgerald said.

The top 10 charities receiving donations through the CVC are “almost without exception local charities,” Fitzgerald said, which means that “the majority of the dollars stay here and help local agencies and non-profits.”

United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area was one of the top 10 organizations receiving donations in the 2007 CVC campaign. Kim Connolly, marketing and communications director of United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, said the organization provides grants to organizations in the local community and also presides over its own community outreach programs, such as the RxRelief program, which provides free medication to uninsured, chronically ill members of the community.

Connolly said donations from campaigns like CVC are very important to United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, especially this year because of the economy.

“U.Va. is the largest employer in the area,” Connolly said. “When you have so many employees giving, whether it’s $5, $10 or $20 dollars a week, it’s very powerful, and it has a very big impact on our community.”

Despite the current economic downturn, Connolly said fundraising is going well so far this year.

Eckert also noted the impact of small gifts in the local community. “For Madison House, for instance, $1 per pay period equals $60-impact on the community,” he said. “That’s a lot of money for just $1.”

In coordination with academic advisors and University athletic coaches, the Honor Committee will soon start delivering honor presentations to the University’s athletic teams.

Committee Chair Jess Huang said statistics the Committee has collected show that athletes are disproportionately reported to the Committee for offenses.

“It’s important that we address these concerns with the athletes themselves,” Huang said.

The presentations will consist of a short PowerPoint and case studies. Vice Chair for Education Ryann Burke suggested keeping the PowerPoint presentations as short as possible and focusing on real-life examples about the honor process.

Vice Chair for Investigations Blaire Hawkins said two aspects of the honor system she would like to see explained are conscientious retraction and spotlighting, which is the disproportionate reporting of minority groups.

Conscientious retraction occurs when a student knows he has committed an honor offense and notifies the Committee and other involved parties such as the professor or teaching assistant. The retraction must be made before the student suspects he will be accused of an honor offense. An investigation may still ensue, but if the Committee deems the retraction valid, the investigation will focus on the student’s retraction, and the retraction will serve as evidence that the student can remain in the community of trust.

“It’s such a useful tool,” Hawkins said. “It’s something good for everybody to know.”

Hawkins also suggested dividing larger teams into smaller groups to make the presentations as effective as possible.

The Committee hopes to have a liaison from each athletic team working in conjunction with a Committee liaison, Huang said. The first presentation will occur Wednesday, when Committee representatives meet with the track and field team.

—compiled by Stephanie Kassab

“You probably can count on two fingers the amount of fumbles that Cedric [Peerman] has had.”

Virginia coach Al Groh’s words for Peerman described the first occasion Peerman had fumbled the ball away to the opposition, or at all, in his Virginia career. The game-ending play reflected the contest’s heartbreaking nature for the Cavaliers; with Virginia needing a touchdown to keep the game alive in overtime, Peerman fumbled at the Miami 18-yard line, which granted the Hurricanes the 24-17 win.
“We’ve been on the other end of that type of deal before,” Groh said. “It’s heartbreaking to our team.”

Following the fumble, a group of Virginia players gathered around Peerman, who had been the spark that lifted the Cavaliers to four straight wins preceding this game.

“We’re going to rally around him,” senior outside linebacker Clint Sintim said. “He’s the heart and soul of this offense as well as this team, and I don’t suspect anything like that will frequently be happening to a guy of his caliber.”

On top of the comeback loss, the Virginia program now faces the news that junior running back Mikell Simpson — who suffered a left shoulder injury on Virginia’s final play of the third quarter — is out for the season.

 “I would say that that’ll be it for him for the year,” Groh said.

Perhaps in testament to the game’s emotional intensity, several players who factored into the loss did not appear for postgame interviews. Groh made it clear in his postgame conference that these players did not appear at the coaches’ discretion.

Peerman was not the only Cavalier who wished he could have a play back that might have changed the game’s outcome. Capping a drive from Miami’s own 5-yard line that lasted for 7:06 late in the fourth quarter, Miami freshman quarterback Jacory Harris was chased out of the pocket by Sintim and threw up a prayer of a pass to the back of the end zone in the vicinity of freshman wide receiver Laron Byrd, who was defended by both senior safety Byron Glaspy and junior corner Vic Hall. Glaspy fell, however, and the 5-foot-9 Hall, even after interfering with Byrd, was simply overpowered by the 6-foot-4 freshman, as Byrd ripped the ball out of the air to claim the game-tying touchdown.

“It was one of those anything-can-happen plays,” Groh said.

Though Sintim’s pressure on Harris forced a difficult throw, the linebacker said he should have done better to keep Harris in the pocket.
“I was out-leveraged on that play,” Sintim said. “It wasn’t a sense of, I don’t know, ‘Pride,’ or ‘Good job,’ or whatever you want to call it. It was more … ‘I could have been in better position, I could have helped stop that throw.’”

Groh emphasized that Harris’ mobility was a problem for Virginia throughout the afternoon.

“One of our principal things going into the game was, keep the quarterback in the pocket,” Groh said. “Let him go any place, but don’t let him get outside.”

Even following the drive that tied the game, however, Virginia had a chance to put the Hurricanes away. With 55 seconds on the clock and the ball on Virginia’s 36-yard line following a good kick return from junior Kevin Ogletree, sophomore quarterback Marc Verica hit senior wide receiver Cary Koch for a 22-yard reception. On the ensuing play, Verica scrambled for 10 yards to the Miami 32-yard line but had the ball stripped by freshman linebacker Sean Spence, and Miami defensive back Bruce Johnson recovered the fumble.

Though Virginia kicker Yannick Reyering had already missed two kicks from 38 and 47 yards earlier in the game, Groh said he had converted from as deep as 50 in practice, and therefore the Cavaliers were in Reyering’s range when the fumble occurred.

“You can say I should have gone down,” Verica said. “But really what it came down to was not securing the ball in a crucial game situation.”

Verica completed 27 of 41 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown, but the sophomore was inaccurate at key moments. Misses of both wide receivers junior Kevin Ogletree and senior Maurice Covington who had a step on their defenders into the end zone were among the errant throws Verica had to open receivers.

“We definitely had some things there that we didn’t take,” Groh said.

Verica also had another key mistake with Virginia in field-goal range. With the ball at the Miami 27-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Verica was chased down and sacked by sophomore Allen Bailey for a 12-yard loss, and Virginia was forced to punt.

“You’d like to say, ‘Look, if there’s any circumstance in the game, you can’t take the sack in that circumstance,’” Groh said. “But we’re sure that under the circumstances in which it happened, it will leave an indelible mark on Marc [Verica].”

With their chance to lock down the Coastal Division title blown, the Cavaliers must now regroup for the final stretch of the season that includes road matchups with Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.

Players and coaches noted, however, that Virginia already has faced and overcome adversity this season.

“It may or may not quite accurately reflect my innermost feelings, but the team usually takes its leaders from those people up front,” Groh said. “It’s our job to be the ones to come back the strongest.”

You can call what happened Saturday a choke job, self-destruction, missed opportunities galore or just unfortunate luck. The bottom line, however, is that Virginia gave the game away to a young Miami team. The Hurricanes were able to capitalize on several Cavalier mistakes and stunned the 53,308 fans in attendance – which, by the way, is an extremely disappointing turnout for a game, let alone a Homecomings game involving two teams with better than .500 records in contention for an ACC title.

If this game proved anything, it showed that your quarterback must make accurate throws and make great decisions, that you must be sound in the kicking game, and that although your defense could have played three quarters of excellent football, it’s the fourth quarter — and eventually overtime — that matters. Virginia found this out the hard way.

Quarterback Marc Verica’s stat line on the surface isn’t bad – 27 of 41 passes completed for 240 yards and a touchdown. However, there were some throws he absolutely had to connect on and just wasn’t able to do so. More frustrating though, were two boneheaded plays Verica made in the fourth quarter that doomed the Cavaliers.

The first one was on a third-and-2 from the Miami 27-yard line. In that situation, as a quarterback, you cannot — let me repeat, cannot — take a sack, and even though Verica had an opportunity to throw the ball away, he took a 12-yard sack that forced Virginia to punt instead of either going for it on fourth down or attempting a field goal. His second big mistake was on Virginia’s final drive in regulation, at the Miami 32-yard line, in field goal range: He fumbled rushing the ball and Miami recovered.

“I should have done a better job securing the ball there,” Verica said. “It’s obviously unacceptable and it definitely contributed to the loss.”

Even though Verica did have some missed opportunities, so did the special teams. Field goal kicking was a huge concern heading into the season, and those concerns reared their ugly heads in this game. Virginia kicker Yannick Reyering missed two field goals in the game from 38 and 47 yards, and there is a good chance that the Cavaliers would have won the football game if Reyering had been able to hit one of them.

“When you miss one or two field goals, I wish I could go out there a second later and hit another one,” Reyering said. “But unfortunately that’s not the case in football.”

On the second miss, there was a bad snap, which often can affect a kicker’s timing, but those misses hurt regardless, especially considering that on the two drives in which Reyering missed the field goal, Virginia started on the Miami 38-yard line and its own 47-yard line, both of which are great starting field positions. Reyering is now 3 for 8 on field goals of 30 yards or longer on the season, and that has to be concerning for Cavalier fans wondering whether he can be counted on to make a clutch field goal like Chris Gould was able to do.

Then there is the defense, which played three great quarters of football, but for whatever reason in the fourth quarter decided to allow Miami to march down the field and tie the score. The Hurricanes had the ball with 8:01 left in the game at its own 5-yard line and went on a 15-play, 95-yard drive that in the future could be seen as the turning point of Miami’s resurgence back to prominence.

Much like Virginia’s drive against North Carolina in which it was pretty much all Verica, the Hurricanes relied largely on true freshman quarterback Jacory Harris — who should be the starter from now on — to make plays. Virginia had Miami right where it wanted — third and 13 at the 2-yard line — but Harris was able to make a beautiful 13-yard throw to Sam Shields, starting a gut-wrenching drive for the Cavaliers. Harris then completed passes of 6, 10, 17, 18 and, most importantly, a 26-yard touchdown pass on third and 15 to Laron Byrd, which stunned Virginia fans and allowed Miami to tie up the score. When you allow a young team to drive 95 yards down the field in convincing fashion, that’s inexcusable, no matter how you played leading up to that. What made it worse for the Cavalier defense was that after Verica fumbled the ball with 31 seconds left, it allowed a 30-yard pass to Travis Benjamin, which helped set up a 51-yard field goal opportunity that Matt Bosher missed. In overtime, however, the defense allowed Miami to score a touchdown on — you guessed it — a third-down pass to Aldarius Johnson. Fitting of Virginia’s performance in the game, the normally dependable Cedric Peerman fumbled the ball on Virginia’s first play in overtime, Miami recovered, and Virginia was left stunned wondering what just happened.

Instead of having a happy Homecomings, Virginia now must regroup after relinquishing control of the Coastal Division. After all of the Houdini acts the Cavaliers pulled during the last two seasons, they had one pulled on them, and the players have only themselves to blame for that.

It’s OK, Reverend.

By Reverend, of course, I mean Cedric Peerman, tailback and ordained minister. The one who has been dubbed by some, “The Running Reverend,” and by others, “Rev. Run.” And the one whose fumble at the end of overtime spelled the end of the Cavs’ four-game winning streak in their 24-17 heartbreaking defeat to Miami Saturday.

If someone was going to make a game-costing mistake, it should have been anybody else. Not Ced. Not the guy who fires up 50-some thousand people on Saturdays when he jumps around, pounds his chest and points to the sky after grinding out three tough yards. Not the classiest, humblest of athletes, whose commitment to Virginia football is only exceeded by a commitment to his religion.
Not the guy, who, as Virginia coach Al Groh likes to say, carries the ball and carries the flag for the program. Not the guy who watched the last seven games from the sideline last year after receiving season-ending foot surgery as then-upstart running back Mikell Simpson got all the love. Not the guy who battled through yet another leg injury at the start of this season to resurrect this team into ACC Championship contention.

“He’s won more games for us than any other player I’ve been around, with the exception of maybe Chris [Long],” senior linebacker Clint Sintim said.

I did not get a chance to talk to Peerman after the game, nor did any other reporter – Groh said certain players, at the discretion of the coaches, would not speak to the media because they were “too emotional to bring them out at this particular time.”

In other words, everyone was distraught, and nobody more than Peerman.

“He’s going to dwell on that [fumble],” senior tight end John Phillips said. “That’s just the type of guy he is.”

And the team recognized that immediately — after the fumble, a group of players went over and rallied around what was assuredly a beaten man, physically and emotionally.

Of course, one of the things they likely told him — and one of the things Groh and his players said after the game — was that it’s not Cedric’s fault; Virginia lost this game as a team. And they were right. Two missed field goals and a fumble by sophomore quarterback Marc Verica at the tail-end of a run that would have put Virginia in field goal range with 30 seconds remaining are among the numerous chances the Cavs had to seal the deal in regulation.

But, for anyone who has fumbled to lose a football game — or struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, or rimmed a potentially game-winning jumper at the buzzer, or launched a penalty kick over the cross bar — these words don’t help much. When you make a mistake like that, all that matters to you is what could have happened if that mistake had been erased.

Not to say that Peerman’s teammates shouldn’t offer words of encouragement, because in another way, these words are valuable. They show your teammate that you care. “You’ll get ‘em next time” might not help much at that moment, but when “next time” arrives, it is certainly a lift to know that your teammates have faith in you to get the job done.

And in Peerman’s case, it demonstrates the character of this team that Ced himself has instilled: Cavaliers stick together. That’s how they won so many tight games last season and that’s how they overcame the adversity of off-field issues and embarrassing losses at the beginning of this season.

“We’ve been down before,” Phillips said. “You can’t get off and break up into groups and what not. You’ve got to stay united as a team.”
It sounds corny. Listening to the players in the post-game interviews, I felt like I was back in Little League. Encourage your teammates; stay together; don’t let the downs get you too down.

But, these are the messages that Rev. Peerman preached to his teammates as they sank to an all new low after their 31-3 loss to Duke. That is the foundation of Cedric Peerman, and Cedric Peerman was the foundation of Virginia’s four-game winning streak.

Now, it is Ced who has hit rock bottom. And thanks chiefly to his influence, there will be 200 hands eagerly extended to help him up.

What the Virginia men’s soccer team hoped would be a season-defining win turned out to be a Halloween nightmare.

Virginia was dealt a tough 2-1 loss Friday night by No. 5 Maryland (14-3, 5-2 ACC). Despite controlling the ball for the majority of the game, Virginia was unable to overcome an early Maryland goal that became a 2-0 deficit early in the second half. The Cavaliers were severely limited by two second-half ejections that forced them to play a man down for most the second half after playing a man up for 16 minutes following a Maryland ejection in the 36th minute.

Virginia’s man disadvantage hampered its ability to overcome not only Maryland’s lead but also the Terrapins’ stout defense, which did not allow the Cavaliers a single second-half corner kick. Virginia falls to 9-6-1 (4-3 ACC) with the loss and will play its final conference game Friday.

“Maryland is a good team, but we held them to three shots,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. “We were down a man for the last 25 minutes, and they didn’t get [more than one] shot. We played our hearts out and played pretty well. To come out of here with that result and two men red-carded is hard to swallow.”

Virginia entertained the Klöckner Stadium faithful with two early scoring opportunities, including a centering pass from freshman forward Brian Ownby. Virginia, however, could not control the ball well enough to turn those chances into goals. As the first half wore on, play between the two ACC foes grew increasingly rough. The Cavaliers were whistled for a number of fouls in the opening minutes, which allowed Maryland to dictate play in the game’s first 15 minutes.

Virginia turned things around midway through the first half as the Cavaliers began to put constant pressure on Maryland’s defense. Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Simpson and Ownby both had runs deep into Maryland territory that brought the Virginia faithful to their feet. By controlling the tempo, Virginia swung momentum to its side.

Maryland, however, negated all of Virginia’s momentum in a matter of seconds. A long ball played from a Maryland midfielder allowed junior forward Drew Yates to grab the ball and break through Virginia’s back line. After spinning to avoid turning the ball over, Yates fed the ball to junior midfielder Jeremy Hall who put the ball off the fingertips of Virginia junior goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo. Hall’s goal gave Maryland an early 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute.

Despite falling behind, Virginia kept up its intensity throughout the first half. The Cavaliers also received a huge break when Maryland redshirt sophomore forward Jason Herrick received a red card and was ejected from the game in the 36th minute, giving Virginia a one-man advantage.

Virginia began the second half with the same intensity it played with during the first. Unfortunately that intensity led to a red-card ejection for Virginia. Junior forward Matt Mitchell was ejected from the game in the 52nd minute for intentionally pushing a Maryland player after play had been whistled dead. Mitchell’s red card evened both sides at 10 players each and forfeited the man advantage Virginia held in the first half.

Despite the ejection, Virginia continued to push the ball on the conservative Terrapins. The Cavaliers sent long ball after long ball deep into Maryland’s defensive zone hoping to create a scoring opportunity; however, Maryland was equal to the task defensively and continued to deny Virginia any real scoring threats.

In the 64th minute, Virginia created its best chance of the night when a free kick was played by junior midfielder Jonathan Villanueva directly toward the Maryland defense. Instead of being cleared, though, the ball was deflected directly toward Simpson, who stood alone 5 yards in front of the goal. Simpson shanked his shot attempt wide left and missed the goal completely.

Simpson’s miss came back to haunt the Cavaliers just a few minutes later when Virginia committed a foul in its box, which awarded Maryland a penalty kick that senior midfielder Graham Zusi promptly buried in the back of the net to give the Terrapins a 2-0 edge.
Less than a minute after Maryland’s goal, Virginia shot itself in the foot when Ownby was tagged with a red card and ejected. Virginia’s second red card of the night put Virginia down a man facing a two-goal deficit. Despite a goal from junior midfielder Ross LaBauex in the 73rd minute, Virginia was unable to surmount Maryland’s lead.

“We’re definitely disappointed,” LaBauex said. “We left it all out on the field. We just have to forget about it and move on.”

The Virginia women’s soccer team played from behind when it faced Wake Forest at Klöckner Stadium yesterday.

Similar to the game against North Carolina, Virginia allowed its opponent to score for the first time in the 59th minute of play; however, the Orange and Blue were able keep Wake Forest from scoring again. Although the Demon Deacons came out with the 1-0 victory, Virginia coach Steve Swanson said in a comparison of the two games, Virginia played much better against Wake Forest than against North Carolina.

“We talked about [managing the game from behind] a little bit,” Swanson said. “We had some decent looks toward the end of the game even when they were playing pretty compact and still behind the ball. So I was happy with that progress.”

Against both the Demon Deacons and the Tar Heels, Virginia switched to a more aggressive playing style, moving from the normal 4-3-3 to a more aggressive 3-4-3,. Though their play yesterday did not result in a Cavalier victory, the Cavaliers had more success against Wake than against North Carolina, which scored another four goals after its initial score in its matchup with Virginia.

One of the Cavaliers’ opportunities yesterday came in the form of a drive to the goal by freshman forward Lauren Alwine in the 87th minute.

“In the play of the game [the move to the goal] was just so fast,” Alwine said, adding that she, “just wanted to put one on goal that had a chance.”

While she made strong moves to put herself one-on-one with the goalie from 15 yards away, she had a tough angle and was unable to find the back of the net, putting the ball just wide of the near post.

“We haven’t shown the same sharpness that we have shown throughout the year,” she said. “We just seem to be forcing things too much — almost trying too hard if I can say that. It’s led to a lot of turnovers and not as much creative play as we normally have.”

One of the more discouraging statistics for the Cavaliers was the total shots: 7-3 in Virginia’s favor. The Demon Deacons managed the only goal of the game with a volleyed corner kick.

“It was on a throw-in,” senior goalie Celeste Miles said. “The girl broke free and was coming down the end line and sent a really nice ball to the other side of the sticks where the girl was open and put it in.”

While the game did not have any implications for Virginia’s seeding in the ACC Tournament, it could come into play in the NCAA Tournament.

The ACC Tournament starts Wednesday, when Virginia faces Wake Forest again in the first of the tournament’s three rounds, all of which are single elimination. Virginia will need to bounce back from a rough stretch in its last three games, in which the Cavaliers have gone 0-2-1.

“I think it was a tough loss given the way it was Senior Day and things like that,” Swanson said. “But I’m confident that we can bounce back. We’ve got a lot of leadership … really there is a lot to play for right now. We just [have] to put this behind us.”