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Men’s soccer looks to get offense going against Radford

No. 10 Cavaliers in search of consistent scoring outside Bird

<p>Senior midfielder Eric Bird has scored for the No. 10 Cavaliers in each of their past three games, but no one else has. </p>

Senior midfielder Eric Bird has scored for the No. 10 Cavaliers in each of their past three games, but no one else has. 

Having played 13 games in the 2014 season, the Virginia men’s soccer team has averaged just more than a goal per game. Friday night against Clemson, the Cavaliers had a multiple chances to increase that statistic.

The No. 10 Cavaliers (8-4-1, 3-2-1 ACC) had several opportunities in transition when they either were even or up a man on the Tigers. But they were halted each time, leading to a scoreless first half which left Virginia in a hole it could not surmount.

“It was kind of just a weird day for everyone where that final pass from everybody was just lacking,” senior midfielder Eric Bird said.

It was not until the end of the second half — Virginia took five shots in the final 23 minutes — that the Cavaliers finally began to see their offensive efforts yield results.

Bird ended the shutout in the 81st minute, knocking in a cross from sophomore forward Sam Hayward. Five minutes later, it appeared Virginia had the game tied up when senior forward Ryan Zinkhan landed a shot in the net, but after discussion between the referees, the equalizer was negated because of a Virginia foul.

Though it is difficult to trace the outcome of the game back to any single moment, a first-half goal on the road against an ACC opponent could not have hurt Virginia’s chances for its fifth consecutive win.

“One of those three or four opportunities where we caught them needs to be a goal,” coach George Gelnovatch said. “That would have made a big difference in the game.”

Now, after a disappointing setback, the Cavaliers will look to regain form Tuesday night against in-state foe Radford (9-2-2, 6-0-0 Big South). To do so, more offensive productivity might be required.

The Cavaliers suffered a blow to their offensive attack during the summer when junior forward Marcus Salandy-Defour — who scored three goals for Virginia last season while playing his best soccer in the postseason — was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

His injury, along with a transition from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 formation, made the Cavaliers shift focus to becoming a ball control team which relies on its defense to win close, low-scoring games.

“We’re really focused on our defense,” Bird said. “We’ve embraced that as our identity. We’re confident that we’re going to score one or two goals per game. Our biggest goal is to keep the other team off the scoreboard. We feel that if we can do that, a goal will come. That will translate to wins.”

Though clearly the strategy has paid dividends for the Cavaliers — currently No. 12 in the RPI computer-generated rankings — they still feel that increasing goal-scoring ability will be crucial to producing a postseason run similar to last year’s.

In the past several weeks, team captain Bird has emerged as his usual offensive threat, netting a goal in each of the past three games. He scored the team’s only goals in 1-0 wins against George Mason and Duke earlier this month.

Still, Virginia is looking for another offensive weapon as junior forward Darius Madison continues to work his way back from an early-season injury.

“To count on [Bird] to score the winning goal in tough games in every game down the stretch is unrealistic,” Gelnovatch said. “I don’t think that’s a fair thing to do. He’s definitely a guy that’s going to get his goals here and there, but we just have to find ways to try to score more goals.”

The Cavaliers have employed a forward-by-committee approach throughout the season to replace Salandy-Defour and the recovering Madison. Among those contributors have been senior forward Kyle McCord and sophomore forwards Hayward and Nicko Corriveau.

All three players have performed admirably — combining for five goals and an assist thus far — but have needed time to feel comfortable.

This is Hayward’s first season in the orange and blue after transferring from Pennsylvania. Corriveau played in 21 games for Virginia last season, but only started four, and, like Madison, was hampered by an early-season injury. McCord is the most experienced of the trio, but had just one goal and zero starts entering 2014.

“All these guys have really showed their versatility and their work ethic,” Bird said. “We’re really excited because they each bring something different. You can put them in anytime in the game and we’re confident in them.”

The Radford offense — which averages two goals per game — will certainly test Virginia’s stout back line. The Highlanders have not lost a game since a 2-1 defeat against No. 4 Charlotte Aug. 31.

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