The No. 3 Virginia men’s soccer team made its first regular season trip west of the Mississippi River this past weekend, facing Tulsa and Alabama-Birmingham in the Hurricane Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As the showcase team in the tournament, the Cavaliers were hoping to increase their win total to three before their ACC schedule begins Friday. But Tulsa — Virginia’s Friday opponent — had different plans.
The Golden Hurricane (2-1-0) dominated the match, outshooting the Cavaliers (2-1-0) 16-5 in regulation. Virginia senior goalkeeper Calle Brown — starting in place of freshman goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell — played stout defense, totaling a career-high nine saves to help the Cavaliers force overtime.
But Brown’s efforts were not enough to fend off Tulsa. In the 105th minute, Tulsa sophomore midfielder Cameron Drackett ripped a 25-yard shot into the Virginia upper-90 to give Tulsa its second win of the season.
At 55 minutes into the Cavaliers’ Sunday game against No. 18 UAB (2-2-0), it seemed Virginia might drop both of its matches, as the Blazers scored to take a 1-0 lead.
But just as the Cavaliers did frequently last season, the squad rallied. Virginia senior forward Kyle McCord knotted the match at 1-1 in the 61st minute, and then just 13 minutes later sophomore forward Sam Hayward scored his first career goal for the Cavaliers. Virginia continued to dominate possession — outshooting UAB 11-2 in the second half — to seal the 2-1 victory.
Virginia will next host in-state rival Virginia Tech Friday at 8 p.m.
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