The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

No. 10 men's soccer dominates Radford 3-0

Cavaliers record first multi-goal game since October 4th

Following a 3-0 victory against Pittsburgh Oct. 4, the Virginia men’s soccer team scored three goals in the subsequent three games — all by senior midfielder Eric Bird.

After missing several scoring opportunities against Clemson and facing a scoreless first half Tuesday night against Radford, the Cavaliers finally found the offensive contributions they had been waiting for in their talented lineup.

No. 10 Virginia (9-4-2, 3-2-1 ACC) had 10 more shots than Radford (9-3-2, 6-0-0 Big South) with nothing to show for it midway through the second half. That all changed in the 66th minute.

Junior midfielder Scott Thomsen took a free kick which sailed beautifully into the box to 6-foot-2-inch freshman defender Wesley Suggs, who headed it in for his first career goal. Three minutes later, sophomore forward Nicko Corriveau found the back of the net to give Virginia the 2-0 lead.

The Cavaliers sealed only their second multiple-goal victory of the season in the 85th minute when freshman midfielder Pablo Aguilar — like Suggs — netted his first career goal to cap the 3-0 win against Radford.

“It’s just nice to get three goals,” coach George Gelnovatch said. “We have been creating chances. Sometimes it’s just the keeper gets his hand on it, it hits the post, it skips wide. I think today, getting three goals was just good for us.

Radford began the game with an aggressive style of play — a style the Cavaliers are used to facing from in-state, out-of-conference opponents. Through the first six minutes, the Highlanders committed three fouls, including a yellow card on freshman forward Neil Martorana.

The card, however, seemed to calm the Highlander pressure, allowing Virginia to use its five midfielders to control possession, limiting Radford’s opportunities the rest of the way through.

Though the Cavaliers failed to score in the first 45 minutes, they still created chances — the best of which came in the 30th minute when junior forward Darius Madison found himself guarded one-on-one in the bottom corner of the box. He beat his man and found an uncovered Bird from 10 yards out — but the ensuing shot rolled wide right.

With the exception of a few crosses into the box early in the game, the Cavaliers dominated through the first 45 minutes. Virginia outshot the Highlanders, 7-1, in the first half en route to a 20-4 advantage through 90 minutes.

“We made really good chances, but [goals] just didn’t come for us,” Thomsen said. “But we knew if we just kept pushing, they would come.”

Virginia’s chances continued as soon as the second half began, as Corriveau missed high on a wide-open shot from 15 yards out in the 47th minute. Just two minutes later, Madison had his five-yard shot stopped on a diving save from freshman goalkeeper Aitor Pouseu Blanco.

Though these missed chances could have been frustrating to Virginia’s spirits, Gelnovatch knew a goal was bound to come.

“The way we started the second half — the first five minutes — I felt like we would wear them down and get a goal,” Gelnovatch said.

After two missed shots by sophomore forward Sam Hayward — one a tipped save on a transition shot and the other a deflected shot off a defender — the Cavaliers finally found the goals they had been waiting for.

“I got a slight deflection — I don’t know if he touched it or not,” Suggs said. “My first instinct was to turn around, and it went in. You could see my reaction — I didn’t really celebrate because it usually doesn’t happen to me that much.”

The exuberance along the Virginia sideline only increased when Zinkhan saved a wide cross from Thomsen on the end line just yards from the net. The save landed at the feet of an open Corriveau in front of the goal, who scored his third goal of the season.

“We had great runs across the keeper, which we’ve been struggling with this year, and that just caused havoc,” Thomsen said.

Aguilar’s first career goal came off another assist from Thomsen — his third of the day — capping an emotional turnaround for the Cavaliers. After a stretch of limited offensive production, the victory gives Virginia a momentum it hopes to carry through the end of the regular season.

“It is a weight lifted off your shoulders when you’re playing well and getting chances to score,” Gelnovatch said. “I think that will do us a lot of good. Scoring three goals and playing the way we did is really good for our psyche right now.”

Virginia will celebrate senior day Friday against Wake Forest. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.

Comments

Latest Podcast

The University’s Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admission, Greg Roberts, provides listeners with an insight into how the University conducts admissions and the legal subtleties regarding the possible end to the consideration of legacy status.



https://open.spotify.com/episode/02ZWcF1RlqBj7CXLfA49xt