CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-The Virginia men's soccer team showed resilience by coming back from a 1-0 halftime deficit yesterday to soundly defeat ACC rival North Carolina 3-1 on at Fetzer Field.
The No. 8 Cavaliers (6-2, 2-0 ACC) extended their winning streak to four games and put an end to the five-game streak of No. 10 UNC (6-2, 1-1 ACC).
The Cavs and the Tar Heels looked even throughout the first half and each side tallied four shots and two saves. But junior forward Chris Carrieri made the difference. He lobbed the ball over the Cavalier defense and freshman midfielder Logan Pause beat Virginia keeper Kyle Singer to claim a 1-0 Carolina lead.
"We came out a little bit flat, and they took advantage of it and got a good goal," Cav coach George Gelnovatch said. "For the second half, we sat down and said 'Look guys, we got to have a little bit more character, we've got to have a little bit more fight.'"
Virginia was a rejuvenated team after halftime. In the 62nd minute, freshman forward Alecko Eskandarian collected a loose ball 15 yards from goal and fired a powerful shot that ricocheted off the right post.
Sophomore forward Ryan Gibbs initiated a goal a minute later. Gibbs chased down a ball that Carolina defender David Stokes assumed was rolling out of bounds. Gibbs made a nice move to leave Stokes behind, then crossed the ball across the face of the goal where a wide-open Steve Totten tapped it in.
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Eskandarian tallied the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute. Senior midfielder Ryan Trout crossed a ball to Eskandarian 15 yards out. The freshman buried a shot into the right side of the net.
However, North Carolina was not to be done in so easily. Hoping to tie the game, Tar Heel midfielder Noz Yamauchi created several good opportunities. In the 85th minute, the Cavaliers weakly cleared a ball. Yamauchi grabbed it at the top of the penalty box, but his one-timer sailed wide. Six minutes later, Heels midfielder Matt Crawford sent in a cross from the right goal line to Yamauchi, but Singer partially blocked Yamauchi's shot from 12 yards out.
The Cavaliers sealed the match in the final minute. Cav forward Sheldon Barnes gracefully lobbed the ball over senior keeper Brad Thomas into the goal.
"We know we're better than them," Gelnovatch said. "I think everyone knew we were going to score."
"Playing away against an ACC team is always going to be difficult, always going to be a battle," sophomore midfielder Kyle Martino added. "The fact that we came back from one-nothing shows that this team has a lot going for it."
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