The 2014 men’s soccer team has showcased two big weaknesses: too often finding itself playing a man down, and failing to capitalize on golden scoring opportunities. But after two weeks of practice before Sunday’s NCAA second-round match against UNC-Wilmington, the Cavaliers seemed to have ended such woes.
Despite falling behind in the opening half and playing all but the first minute without senior midfielder Eric Bird due to a groin injury, No. 16 seed Virginia (11-6-2, 3-3-2 ACC) used a re-tinkered defense and a revitalized offense to propel itself to a 3-1 win against the Seahawks (13-5-2, 5-2-1 CAA).
Sophomore forward Sam Hayward scored the equalizing goal in the 44th minute, giving Virginia the momentum it needed to pull off the comeback win and net three goals for only the third time this season.
“Any winning is much harder this time of year, especially when you do it from behind,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. “Getting an equalizer right before half, I felt that we had them.”
The Cavaliers came out in a 4-5-1 alignment, marking only the second match this season in which Gelnovatch deviated from his usual 3-5-2 formation — and his first time with Virginia’s starting 11.
Junior Scott Thomsen slid from his left-midfield position down to left back, while senior defender Matt Brown took the start in place of often-penalized redshirt freshman defender Wesley Suggs.
But right off the bat, Virginia’s new lineup experienced an unexpected change. Bird — Virginia’s leading scorer and captain — went down and left game just 62 seconds in, giving redshirt freshman midfielder Pablo Aguilar his first career postseason action.
“[Bird’s injury] took a lot out of us, but today showed what our team is all about — just the next guy stepping up,” Thomsen said.
Virginia had the best of the early looks on goal. Junior forward Darius Madison saw his rip from the top of the box deflect off the crossbar in the third minute, while Thomsen had his shot saved in the seventh minute.
But UNC-Wilmington soon gained composure as it took control of possession, and in the 20th minute — on just their second shot of the game — the upset-minded Seahawks capitalized on their opportunity to score.
Senior midfielder Jamie Dell cut into the right side of the Virginia box and found an open and cutting senior midfielder David Sizemore, who sent a low line-drive rip into the left corner of the net to give the Seahawks the early 1-0 lead.
But, ironically enough, Gelnovatch felt that having experience playing behind from earlier in the season allowed his Cavaliers to keep cool, calm and collected.
“We’ve been there before,” Gelnovatch said. “It was just another obstacle for us.”
Virginia continued to take jabs at the UNC-Wilmington defense. Sophomore forward Nicko Corriveau had his shot go wide right in the 23rd minute, while Thomsen had a cross cleared from inside the box in the 33rd.
Hayward was the victim of a diving fingertip save in the 38th minute, but six minutes later — as the Cavaliers were desperately looking for momentum entering the half — the Dallas native avenged his earlier miss.
Thomsen juked a Seahawk defender while tiptoeing the baseline as he entered the box. Hayward took a one-touch shot off Thomsen’s cross and sent the ball between two defenders and sophomore goalkeeper Sean Melvin to tie the score at one right before halftime.
“That’s the best time to score and worst time to get scored on,” Gelnovatch said.
And sure enough, through the first two minutes of the second half, the momentum appeared to be well in the Cavaliers’ favor as they rattled off three quick shots after switching to a 4-4-2 formation.
Whether it was the formation or simply better execution, Virginia was able to accomplish in the second half what it has repeatedly failed to do all season — convert scoring chances into goals.
In the 62nd minute, Thomsen took a free kick from the right corner of the field, sending the cross into a mess of Cavalier attackers and Seahawk defenders. After Corriveau got a foot on the ball, freshman midfielder Jake Rozhansky kicked in his first career goal.
“All of the guys have been on me and I have been on my self — I’ve had so many chances to score,” Rozhansky said. “It means a lot to me to finally score.”
Following a corner in the 74th minute, the Cavaliers sealed their second-round victory. Brown sent a perfectly placed cross into the box, and 6-foot-3-inch senior forward Kyle McCord out-jumped his defender and headed in the goal to spot Virginia an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
“They were very opportunistic,” UNC-Wilmington coach Aidan Heaney said.
The win means the Cavaliers will travel to South Bend, Indiana for the second time in three matches next Sunday, as top-seeded Notre Dame beat Ohio State Sunday night.
After tying the Fighting Irish while a man down back in September, Virginia was outplayed and out-executed when the conference rivals met two weeks ago in the ACC Quarterfinals.
Still, with a stouter four-man back line and an offense that might finally be clicking, Virginia has its confidence soaring for next Sunday’s third-round match.
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