For nearly a month and a half, during a dazzling stretch from Sept. 17 to Oct. 29, the Virginia men’s soccer team did not lose a game. The Cavaliers rocketed past seven adversaries including then-No. 2 Notre Dame and earned draws against four more including then-No. 5 Maryland.
Friday night at Klöckner Stadium, there was no late magic or final push by the home team. Instead, North Carolina quietly silenced Virginia’s 11-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory, stifling a Cavalier offense that had been firing on all cylinders entering the game. Virginia (8-4-4, 3-3-4 ACC) was held to just four shots as players were was blanketed by a wall of Carolina blue throughout the contest.
“We definitely had heavy legs, but also give UNC credit because they’re very tough to score on,” coach George Gelnovatch said. “I mean, they are athletic all over the field, in particular across the back, and their goalkeeper is very good.”
The No. 15 Cavaliers’ four shots in the game were well below their season average of 15.8, and none of their attempts truly challenged North Carolina (7-3-5, 4-1-5 ACC) or Tar Heel junior goalkeeper Brendan Moore.
Tar Heel junior forward Tyler Engel scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 11th minute. Virginia, meanwhile, did not get its first shot off until the 17th minute and was shutout at home for the first time all year.
“I thought in the first 15, 20 minutes, they came at us and dictated the pace of the game, you know, and we were not ready for the pace of that game,” Gelnovatch said.
Engel scored his goal off a rebound when Virginia sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Gal lost his handle on freshman midfielder Omar Holness’ drive from 20 yards out. The ball skipped to Engel, and he punched it in.
“It was unlucky — hit off my hands, right to my face, you know, bounces to their guy,” Gal said. “You know, it’s not a good start. It wasn’t a good start. We came out flat the first 10 minutes, but I think throughout the game we improved.”
Virginia and North Carolina came into Friday’s contest moving in opposite directions. The Cavaliers rose to a season-high No. 15 in this week’s NSCAA Coaches Poll on the strength of their 2-0 road win against the previously undefeated Fighting Irish. In the same poll, the Tar Heels continued their season-long slide down the rankings, tumbling from the top-25 despite beginning the year at No. 4.
Virginia looked a step slower against North Carolina from the opening whistle. The Tar Heels repeatedly turned back Virginia’s offensive efforts, whether it was Moore rushing forward to preempt a chance before it could develop or one of the Tar Heels’ talented defenders stripping the ball from the Cavaliers.
“I just think that we were surprised with how fast the game was moving, and I guess it caught us off guard a little bit,” Gal said. “And, you know, we paid the price for that.”
Virginia picked up its play midway through the game — getting off three shots and a corner kick in the second half — but still failed to crack North Carolina’s seemingly impenetrable backline. The Tar Heels have now held the Cavaliers scoreless in the teams’ last seven meetings. Virginia last scored against North Carolina in October 2008, before any of the current Cavaliers had played their first college soccer game.
The loss also thwarted Virginia’s chances to earn a top-four conference finish and the accompanying first-round bye in the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers entered the game in sixth-place in the 12-team conference, one point behind the fifth-place Tar Heels.
The Cavaliers’ final regular-season game Friday against conference foe Boston College will now be less about postseason positioning and more about regaining momentum before postseason play begins.
“We need to be playing better soccer,” Gal said. “I mean, not that we’re starting to play bad, but it’s gotta be better …We can’t come out flat the first ten minutes like it was [tonight]. I mean, going into Boston College, that’s a big game for us to get, especially going into the ACC Tournament.”
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