Sophomore defender Molly Menchel broke the deadlock against No. 16 Maryland with a one-time strike during the 29th minute on an assist from senior defender Amanda Fancher. Menchel has three goals and five assists on the year. Photo by Emily Burns

The No. 5 Virginia women’s soccer team blanked No. 16 Maryland 2-0 Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium in the ACC quarterfinals. The victory marked the Cavaliers’ first win in an ACC tournament game since 2008 and was an echo of Virginia’s dominating 4-1 victory against the Terrapins (10-5-4, 4-5-2 ACC) during its first ACC game this season.

The first goal for Virginia (14-3-2, 8-2-1 ACC) came from sophomore defender Molly Menchel, who shot a beautiful one timer into the upper-left corner of the net from the top of the box in the 29th minute. Senior defender Amanda Fancher provided the assist on the play, her fourth of the year.

“I’m pleased with the result,” coach Steve Swanson said. “We did what we needed to do. We pressed the ball well. We took advantage of our depth a little bit. That first goal was really important for us. It gave us some confidence and allowed us to dictate the tempo of the game.”

Sophomore forward Gloria Douglas scored the second and final goal of the contest during the dwindling minutes of the game. During the 83rd minute, junior forward Caroline Miller sent a looping pass from midfield toward Douglas. Douglas proceeded to juke around a Maryland defender before blasting the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out.

“It was kind of an awkward run that just happened to work,” Douglas said. “Caroline [Miller] passed it to me and it was a one-versus-one situation with the centerback. I cut it to my right and just placed it top shelf.”

The game marks the fifth shutout in a row for senior goalkeeper Chantel Jones, who tied the NCAA career shutout record with her 44th. She is tied for third in the ACC with 11 shutouts on the season.

“It feels good,” Jones said. “I don’t really think about [the record], I just try to keep the ball out of the net so we can get a win. I can’t do it without my defense. They played awesome today and without them, who knows how many goals I would have had scored on me.”

The Cavaliers now face Florida State, a team which defeated North Carolina 1-0 in a double-overtime thriller Sunday afternoon. Virginia sneaked past the Seminoles 4-3 in overtime earlier this season behind two goals from Miller, the second of which came during the 93rd minute to win the game.

“It will be a challenge,” Jones said. “Florida State is a really good team, but I think if we come out and play our game we’ll do well, and hopefully we can put some goals in the net.”

The Cavaliers enter the matchup on a six-game winning streak, one short of tying their longest streak of the season, which came in their first seven games. The six consecutive wins have Virginia feeling confident ahead of its rematch against the Seminoles.

“Some games we haven’t showed up [in], but you just have to keep focusing on the next game and not look back,” Douglas said. “Honestly, no matter who we play, I think we’re going to be a big threat.”

The ACC semifinal matchup with Florida State will take place Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Cary, N.C. and will be televised on ESPN3. With a win, the Cavaliers will play either Duke or Wake Forest at 1 p.m. Sunday in the conference championship game.

Freshman goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone recorded a career-high 14 saves to stymie the potent Blue Devil offense en route to her seventh win this season. Photo by Thomas Bynum

One day after senior midfielders Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese punched their tickets to the 2012 Olympics with Team USA by upsetting world No. 1 Argentina 4-2, the Virginia field hockey team scored a huge upset win against No. 6 Duke Saturday. The Cavaliers rode timely scoring and an impressive defensive effort to a dramatic 3-2 victory on penalty strokes.

“They knew that was a long shot for the USA, and a long shot for them today, and they decided to go for it,” coach Michele Madison said.

Virginia (8-11, 1-4 ACC) started the scoring early as a penalty corner during the second minute led to a goal from junior forward Britt Knouse — her eighth goal of the season. Duke (11-6, 2-3 ACC) responded during the 14th minute with a goal from junior midfielder Devon Gagliardi to tie the game. After their initial goal, the Cavaliers struggled to find offensive chances and took only two shots during the first half compared to Duke’s eight. The score remained deadlocked, though, and the teams entered the break at 1-1.

During the second half Virginia again scored first as freshman forward Rachel Sumfest tipped in a pass from sophomore forward Elly Buckley to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead during the 41st minute. The Blue Devils tied it just five minutes later with a goal from sophomore midfielder Emmie La Marchand. Duke dominated the second half offensively and took 18 shots after the break, but the Virginia defense stymied the Blue Devils and surrendered only one goal. Freshman goalie Jenny Johnstone finished the game with a career-high 14 saves.

“We just went back to the basics,” senior midfielder Alexandra Jahnle said. “We kept our basics skills on and just kept getting the ball out after corners. Everyone just stuck with it and worked really hard the whole game.”

Timely scoring made the second half for Virginia. The team took only three shots but managed to convert on one. The Cavaliers were outshot 26-5 during regulation and took only three corners to Duke’s 12, yet they kept the game tied.

During the two overtime periods the teams each took two shots but were unable to break through on the scoreboard, sending the game into penalty strokes tied 2-2. Both teams converted the first three penalty shots before Duke’s senior midfielder Tara Jennings missed the fourth. Buckley netted her goal to give the Cavaliers a 4-3 advantage, and senior midfielder Rhian Jones missed the Blue Devils’ fifth shot to seal the win for Virginia.

The upset win came on Senior Day, as the team honored its three graduating seniors, and was a fitting last game for the players.

“I love playing on this team, and I’ll definitely miss it,” Jahnle said. “It was such an exciting game to play, and I’m happy with it.”

The Cavaliers now shift their focus to the ACC Tournament, which begins Thursday in College Park, Md. Virginia, the No. 6 seed, will suffer a case of déjà vu as its first opponent will again be Duke, which comes into the tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Cavaliers will hope to capitalize on their familiarity against the Blue Devils and knock them off again.

“The team has been so hungry for a big win, and they’ve been working for it and they’ve never let up,” Madison said. “They knew it was going to happen and it finally did. I think they’re just going to keep working and keep pushing.”

While avoiding the Charlottesville snow in Florida, the Virginia volleyball team nevertheless slipped in its two weekend matches against Miami and Florida State.

Friday against the Hurricanes (19-3, 10-3 ACC), the Cavaliers (8-15, 2-11 ACC) failed to reach 20 points in any set and were swept 3-0 in Coral Gables. Two days later in Tallahassee against the Seminoles (19-4, 13-0 ACC), Virginia scored no more than 20 points in another straight-set defeat.

Against Miami, no Virginia player recorded more than the seven kills of junior middle blocker Jessica O’Shoney. Freshman libero Sydney Shelton led the squad defensively with 14 of the Cavaliers’ 47 total digs.

Sunday against Florida State, junior right side hitter Tobi Farrar led the team with nine kills. On defense, sophomore libero Emily Rottman recorded a team-high 10 digs.

After dropping all four matches of the season to the two Florida squads, Virginia travels to North Carolina this weekend to face Duke and Wake Forest Friday and Saturday, respectively.

—compiled by Charles Holtsford

Attention all bluegrass music lovers: If you walk by Old Cabell Hall between 8 and 10 p.m. Wednesdays, you can catch a jam session of bluegrass musicians.

The group is spearheaded by Music Department Chair Richard Will, a bluegrass fiddler and a specialist in American folk music. He first conceived the idea of creating a bluegrass jam session in 2003, “when an award from the Mead Endowment enabled me to begin hosting a weekly jam session on Grounds and also to travel with a group of students to a bluegrass festival,” Will explained. “The jam has continued in one form or another ever since.”

The Mead Endowment is a University program which allows faculty to realize a “dream idea” which furthers interaction with students outside the classroom. Will’s idea was to teach students bluegrass musical styles as well as the style’s historical and cultural significance, and to allow students hands-on experience.

Last week, seven musicians, including Will, stood in a circle in front of the Old Cabell’s front doors practicing bluegrass improvisation. While in the past, Will has “put together bands drawn from participants in the jam, primarily for University events or benefit concerts around Charlottesville,” he has no such intentions for members of the session in the near future, he said.

One of the striking characteristics of the bluegrass jam is its informal, cheerful atmosphere, which emphasized that the performance last Wednesday was not a concert. The musicians were dressed in casual clothes, and laughed and talked between songs. Although it was clear they were there to have fun with the music rather than to perform for a specific audience, they caught the attention of many passersby who paused to appreciate their playing.

The musicians ranged in age from undergraduate students to Will himself. “One of my favorite things about the jam is that it has always brought together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and community members,” he said. The diversity of musicians ­— from skill level to age — reflects the universality of the bluegrass style as well as the ability of musical performance to cross boundaries. “The music provides a unique opportunity for all of those different communities to interact,” Will said.

The jam session typically features musicians on the fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, bass and resonator guitar, or dobro, he explained. The group’s diversity extends to its repertoire as well. Will said the group has occasionally explored other genres such as “old-time and country music, Irish music, rock and beyond.”

The overall cheerful atmosphere of the group, combined with its folk sound, made for some great listening. For those who have never gotten to watch a bluegrass jam live — and for those who have — this is well worth dropping by to watch for a few minutes.

“Bluegrass has a strong tradition of outdoor performance,” Will said, referencing the group’s choice to play together outside. “Since the instruments are acoustic, it’s easy to move outside — and quiet enough that one generally doesn’t disturb the neighbors.” As the weather gets colder, however, the group may move to an indoor location — so before winter sets in, try to catch them on the steps of Old Cabell.

The next time you decide to attend a U.Va. a cappella concert, keep in mind that you may be witnessing a future professional musician at work. This was the case for Will Anderson and Nate McFarland, former members of a cappella group The Virginia Gentlemen. Will and Nate are now the lead singer and guitarist, respectively, for Parachute, a rock band from Charlottesville which has grown in popularity during the past few years. Releasing their debut album in 2009 and their sophomore album a few months ago, Parachute has been busy touring and promoting its music. In 2008, the group performed on stage with Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers on New Year’s Eve in Times Square after being featured in a Nivea commercial campaign. This past year, Parachute has been on tour with the Plain White T’s and Goo Goo Dolls. In just two weeks’ time the group will perform in North Carolina at three different venues while on tour with Kate Voegele. With the future looking bright, this local rock phenomena is headed for what seems to be an explosive career in the music industry.

—compiled by Erin Abdelrazaq and Kevin Vincenti

Junior tailback Perry Jones totaled 67 yards rushing, 87 yards receiving and 37 yards passing with two touchdowns against Miami. The complete offensive performance propelled the Cavaliers to London’s first ACC road victory. Photo courtesy Virginia Athletics

The Virginia football team took down Miami 28-21 in Sun Life Stadium behind outstanding offensive efforts from sophomore quarterback Michael Rocco and junior tailback Perry Jones.

Rocco tossed two touchdown bombs, a 53-yarder to freshman wide receiver Darrius Jennings during the first quarter for a 7-0 lead and a 78-yarder to Jones during the fourth quarter for a 28-14 advantage. In addition to the long catch and run for a score, Jones finished with 67 yards rushing on 12 carries and also threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Tim Smith to open up a 17-0 advantage during the second quarter.

The Hurricanes clawed back to a single-score deficit, 28-21, through a huge game from junior wide receiver Tommy Streeter, who caught seven passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns, but Streeter failed to haul in a desperation pass to the end zone from senior quarterback Jacory Harris with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Virginia coach Mike London beat Miami (4-4, 2-3 ACC) for the second time in two tries and brought his team to the verge of its first bowl game since the 2007 season. The Cavaliers (5-3, 2-2 ACC) can clinch bowl eligibility with a win at Maryland next Saturday.

—compiled by Matt Welsh

Freshman forward Morgan Brian scored both Virginia goals during the team’s 2-0 Senior Night triumph. She has netted goals in her last four matches. Photo by Scott Miles

The No. 5 Virginia women’s soccer team concluded its regular season with a five-game winning streak by beating Miami 2-0.

With the win, the Cavaliers (13-3-2, 7-2-1 ACC) secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. The team entered the game still hoping to claim the tournament’s top seed, but Duke clinched the ACC regular season championship with a 1-0 victory against N.C. State last night.

The Hurricanes (9-7-1, 3-6-1 ACC) needed a tie and a Maryland loss to qualify for the ACC Tournament, and consequently decided to pack defenders in the box and focused on stopping the Cavaliers from scoring rather than pressing offensively. The compact defense effectively held off the Virginia attack for much of the night, but the Cavaliers refused to use that as an excuse for their early missed opportunities.

“We just didn’t take our chances when we needed to,” coach Steve Swanson said. “In the second half, we had some good looks, but give our team credit. We stuck with it and kept battling. As the second half wore on, it was just a matter of time until we got [a goal.]”

Freshman forward Morgan Brian finally solved Miami’s prevent defense, breaking a scoreless tie in the 80th minute with a header off of junior midfielder Julia Roberts’ free kick. Three minutes later, she struck again with a blast from the top of the box. By providing the game’s only two goals of the night, the forward, who has scored in each of the past four games, upped her tally to eight goals on the season.

“My teammates have been giving me  good balls,” Brian said. “We’ve been playing as a team lately and just putting the ball in the back of the net.”

Because of the new ACC Tournament format, the Cavaliers will host their first-round game Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. They will play the No. 7 seed, Maryland, a team which moved up the ACC standings after a 2-1 overtime victory against the tournament’s No. 3 seed, North Carolina, last night.

Last night was also Senior Night for Virginia, as the team honored forward Lauren Alwine, defender Amanda Fancher, goalkeeper Chantel Jones, defender Maggie Kistner and defender Katie Starsia. Last night marked the seniors’ last home regular season game, but the group believes their careers are far from over.

“This was just another game,” Kistner said. “I’m confident that this season will last a lot longer this year so I’m not getting emotional just yet.”

Freshman midfielder Calvin Rezende scored his first collegiate goal last Tuesday night to break a scoreless tie against American. Virginia won 2-0. Photo by Thomas Bynum

After losing its top goal-scorer to a season-ending knee injury last week, the No. 25 Virginia men’s soccer team will look to keep the ball rolling Saturday against No. 13 Boston College at Klöckner Stadium at 7 p.m. in a game streamed live on ESPN3’s website.

With the ACC Tournament less than two weeks away, the Cavaliers will have to finish the season without standout junior forward Will Bates after an MRI revealed that the preseason All-American striker would be sidelined four to six months with a torn ACL. Bates started all 15 games in which he appeared and amassed a team-leading 14 goals and four assists.

“It’s one of those things that happens in sports,” Bates said. “It’s just a risk you take. From here you just go forward, get the surgery and try to get back on the field.”

Sitting at fourth place in the ACC standings, the Cavaliers (10-5-1, 3-2-1 ACC) are anything but downtrodden, having lost just one of their last seven games coming down the stretch.

“We got our destiny in our own hands,” coach George Gelnovatch said. “We’ve got two ACC home games [left] and I think a win [tomorrow] will clinch a top-four spot, and I think it will secure our NCAA [Tournament] selection as well.”

It certainly hasn’t been easy for the Cavaliers, however, as Bates’s injury is only the most recent of many devastating blows to the Virginia roster. His knee injury is the third of its kind to strike the team this year alone, with freshman midfielder Eric Bird and sophomore midfielder Bryan Lima both succumbing to ACL tears of their own earlier in the season.

“It’s tough, but we’re staying positive and we’re going to move forward.” Gelnovatch said. “Were not gonna let any of this stuff get to us.”

While Gelnovatch conceded that Virginia cannot fill the vacuum left by those season-ending injuries, especially that of Bates — whose 32 points rank second in the ACC — the Virginia coach stressed that the talented young guns on his roster must prove themselves capable of collectively making up the difference in scoring output.

“How do you replace a guy like Bates?” Gelnovatch asked. “It’s really by committee, because I don’t think we’re going to just plug one guy in there to start scoring 10 to 15 goals.”
With their top finisher now among several other players sidelined for the remainder of the 2011 season, the Cavaliers will now depend on younger players with a penchant for playmaking beyond their years. Freshman midfielder Calvin Rezende and freshman forward Chris Somerville are two potential impact youngsters who are now stepping up into bigger roles because of the recent string of injuries. Both are helping to carry the team into the playoffs as major contributors to the Virginia offense, with Rezende scoring his first goal and Somerville providing an assist during the 2-0 victory against American Tuesday.

“When you’re coming off the bench, then you’re in there to make a difference,” Rezende said. “[The injuries] just make the young guys more determined than ever, more disciplined, and it’s a way to show our talent because we have big shoes to fill.”

With momentum at their backs and the injuries in the past, the Cavaliers look to continue a strong season finish against the Eagles before hosting N.C. State in Charlottesville Thursday for the final regular season game. Virginia sits just one point above Boston College in the ACC standings. A win Saturday would be crucial to locking up a favorable spot in the conference tournament and could even catapult the Cavaliers a few spots up the table — an impressive feat considering the injury and suspension-induced misfortune the squad has suffered this year.

“The season’s like a roller coaster and we just keep getting more obstacles in our way.” Somerville said. “But it’s not gonna stop us. We’re gonna keep working harder and push on through it. We gotta keep our heads up, stay positive and keep rolling.”

After dropping two home contests 1-3 to Clemson and Georgia Tech, the Virginia volleyball team begins a four-match road trip starting this weekend against ACC foes Miami and No. 19 Florida State Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Virginia (8-13, 2-9 ACC) travels to the Sunshine State still smarting from its most recent setbacks in a season of disheartening defeats.

“[The matches were] definitely disappointing,” junior setter Beth Wildermuth said. “We prepared really well. I think that it was a little bit of a heartbreaker that we lost.”

The Cavaliers’ serving and passing game has been a major source of frustration for coach Lee Maes, who hopes an added focus on improving these areas will yield successful results during the next two weekends.

“We spend hours and hours on the serving and passing game,” Maes said. “I would say it’s probably a majority of what we spend the practices on because [they’re] the two most important aspects of the game. It’s not necessarily from a technical standpoint, because we feel like they have a great technical base. Now it’s more so the mental aspect of it — can they fight through keeping their technique and knowing that if they make an error they’re going to be under stress?”

The Cavaliers have already faced both the Hurricanes (17-3, 8-3 ACC) and the Seminoles (17-4, 11-0 ACC) this season, which means Virginia will be better prepared for their styles of play.

“The great thing about it is it’s the second time we get to play them, so we’ll obviously get to take from what we learned the first time and make some adjustments,” Maes said.

Improvements in the serving and passing game will go a long way to securing a successful result this time around for the Cavaliers, who failed to win a single set against either team during their respective first meetings. Virginia allowed both teams to hit at an attack percentage of better than .350 — with Miami at .387 and Florida State at .358 — while the Cavaliers were under .260 during each match.

While no Hurricane or Seminole player recorded more than 13 kills against Virginia during the teams’ initial matches, the Cavalier squad still seeks the right combination of players to control the ball defensively and get passes to the right places on the floor. Maes has redesigned the lineup multiple times, most recently by starting freshman libero Sydney Shelton in an effort to bolster the team defensively.

“[Shelton’s] been put in a big role, especially as a [freshman],” Wildermuth said. “She’s doing really well. I think she feels like there’s a lot of pressure on her, [but she’s] stepping into her role. It’s a little difficult changing the rotations all the time because we have to get used to new players doing each thing, but … it’s coming along.”

Stopping the attacks of two talented teams will be challenging for the Cavaliers, but the team remains hopeful and continues to find ways to fuel its efforts.

“Last year we lost to [both of] them at their place[s],” Wildermuth said. “[We] had a rough weekend [but] a few weeks later we came back and played the best ever and beat both of them at Mem[orial Gymnasium], so we are looking to go out there and ruin them in their home courts. I’m excited.”