In what looked like a massacre on paper, the Virginia men's soccer team just barely escaped Klockner Stadium with a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech last night.
Tech "is a better team than we thought they were," Cav coach George Gelnovatch said. "They're a solid team."
Virginia "is just so fast, they're fast with the ball, they're fast without the ball," Virginia Tech coach Jerry Cheynet said. "Their speed was hard for us to match up with and I think that was the difference."
A shocking goal by Hokie striker Innocent Wamey 33 seconds into the game left the Cavs (4-2-1, 0-1-1 ACC) with another uphill battle ahead of them. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, they did not press their luck too much as the Hokies (4-3-0) only amassed one more shot for the remainder of the contest, compared to Virginia's 16 shots.
Excited from their early tally, Tech went out and attacked the Cavs in an attempt to pull off an upset.
"I was concerned, it was so quick," first-year midfielder Kyle Martino said. "We knew it was gonna be a battle after that."
In addition to turning on their offensive jets, the Hokies also tried to bully the younger and smaller Cavs, chalking up 19 fouls and three cautionary calls for the game.
"Those guys really need to get in your head early," Martino said. "I got hit hard early and it hurt and [Virginia Tech] liked it."
"We were a little physical, but sometimes we have to do what we have to do to stay in the game," Cheynet said. "We're not as quick or as skilled as they are."
But after the young Cavaliers regrouped, Martino earned the first goal of his short career barely five minutes into the match. He took a well-placed ball by Cav backer Mike Feller and popped it over the outstretched hands of Tech keeper Colin Kibler.
With the score tied at one, the Cavs seemed to control the game as the second half progressed, but Virginia struggled putting the ball in Tech's net again.
"I knew it was just a matter of time before we scored," Gelnovatch said.
Gelnovatch's predictions came to life as first-year Ryan Gibbs notched the game-winner with a fancy move to beat the Tech defense and keeper.
"Kenny [Arena] played me a nice ball from midfield and I got it at a weird angle," Gibbs said. "So I cut it back past the defender, he missed it and I put it in."
Despite the win, Virginia's struggle in putting away the hostile Hokies could be a cause for concern. Those involved with the team, however, know the Cavaliers are on the verge of unleashing their energy on their opponents.
"Eventually the chances are going to have to go in, as long as we continue to get them," Martino said. "Obviously we're worried about finishing but if we weren't getting any chances that would be the real big problem, sooner or later our chances are gonna go in."
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