Just days after moving up to No. 2 and earning a first-place spot in the polls, the Virginia men’s soccer team was dealt its second loss of the season to Davidson Wednesday night.
The Wildcats came out strong, but it was the Cavaliers who led at halftime. Two second-half goals within eight minutes of each other, however, were enough for Davidson (4-0-2, 0-0-0 A-10) to pull a 2-1 upset against Virginia (4-2-1, 1-0-0 ACC).
“At this point, I can’t even think of us as the No. 2 team in the country,” coach George Gelnovatch said.
Instead of its usual 3-5-2 formation, the Cavaliers employed a 4-4-2 alignment — the same it ran last year — to best fit their personnel after only starting two players who started Sunday against Notre Dame.
“In preparation for some games coming up, we wanted to rest some guys,” Gelnovatch said.
With a starting lineup which accounted for just 11 starts on the season — including six players who had yet to start a match this season — the Cavaliers weathered some early struggles.
Davidson nearly scored in the opening minute, the Wildcats penetrating the Virginia penalty box and taking two quick shots on goal, both from within 10 yards. One was saved by freshman goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell, while the other was deflected by a Virginia defender. In the third minute, Davidson fired its third shot of the game which missed just high.
Through the first seven minutes of the match, the Wildcats had outshot the Cavaliers 4-0 after their fourth shot ricocheted off Virginia’s left post. In fact, it was not until the 12th minute that junior forward Darius Madison took the Cavaliers’ first shot of the game.
But after being dominated through the first 15 minutes, Virginia’s new starting 11 began to click and take control of possession.
The Cavaliers drew first blood in 20th minute when sophomore midfielder Nicko Corriveau received a pass from redshirt freshman midfielder Luc Fatton from just outside the top of the Davidson penalty box. Corriveau quickly turned and fired a high shot which left Davidson junior goalkeeper Max Pacifici paralyzed as the ball hit the back of the net.
Even though Virginia took a 1-0 lead into halftime, it was clear Davidson was a formidable opponent worthy of the Cavaliers. Throughout the game, the starters continued to remind their substitutes of the Wildcats’ scoring prowess.
“We knew they were going to fight hard this whole game, no matter what,” junior midfielder Todd Wharton said. “We were talking at halftime, ‘Hey, they’re going to come out strong like they did in the first half.’ We just tried to weather the storm.”
Virginia’s first legitimate scoring opportunity in the second half came in the 51st minute when redshirt freshman midfielder Pablo Aguilar dribbled through the right half of Davidson’s penalty box. He fed a cutting senior forward Kyle McCord 10 yards from the net, but a diving fingertip save by Pacifici stopped McCord’s shot to the bottom left corner.
But merely seconds later, still in the 51st minute, Davidson sent their own shot to the bottom left corner — but they converted. Senior midfielder Alan Reiter’s rip from the top of the penalty box was out of reach of Caldwell, as the Wildcats evened the game at one.
The goal prompted a substitution in which two defensive-minded, regular starters — senior defender Kyler Sullivan and Wharton — entered the game.
Still, their efforts were not enough to stop Davidson in the 59th minute. Off a Wildcat corner kick, Davidson senior defender Max Riehemann kicked his shot into the net amid the mass confusion after the initial header.
Just as with the previous goal, Gelnovatch brought back more of his regular starters into the game — freshman midfielder Jake Rozhansky, junior midfielder Scott Thomsen, Darius Madison and senior forward Ryan Zinkhan — in hopes of an offensive boost.
Though this quartet certainly helped Virginia hold possession more on their offensive end, they could never capitalize.
In the final 10 minutes, Virginia rattled off several shots, including one by sophomore forward Sam Hayward which deflected off Thomsen in 82nd minute. Madison and Rozhansky had shots saved in 85th minute 86th minute, respectively.
In 88th minute, Madison got behind the defense, appearing to have a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper — but much to the dismay of the Klöckner Stadium crowd, he was tripped from behind without a penalty, effectively ending a Virginia comeback.
Despite the obvious disappointment surrounding a loss where most starters didn’t play in the first half, the players remained unified, refusing to assign the blame to the coaches or their back-ups who started the game.
“We’re one team,” Wharton said. “We win as a team, we lose as a team.”
Gelnovatch willfully accepted the blame for the defeat, but he thinks now, with an extra chip on their shoulders, the Cavaliers will continue their run toward postseason glory.
“This loss is on me,” Gelnovatch said. “I put us in a tough situation, and it’s on me. It’s totally on me. I told the team that, and I can promise you we’ll be rested, we’ll be fired up and we’ll be ready to go on Saturday against Syracuse.”
The opening kickoff for Saturday’s match at No. 18 Syracuse is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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