WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-In yesterday's overtime period, Virginia goalkeeper David Comfort did everything he could to bail the Virginia men's soccer team out of another close game.
Another spectacular save was in order as North Carolina forward Caleb Norkus readied a shot from six yards out. But Comfort came up just inches short and the point-blank shot found the back of the net.
"All I could do was make myself big," Comfort said. "Too bad, I didn't get a piece of it."
As a fan of Virginia soccer, I can forgive him. The fact is that he had been playing big the entire game. Comfort stood on his head to give the Cavs a shot at the ACC title. His outstanding play was the reason the Cavs were still alive after 90 minutes of soccer.
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All too often, Virginia's attacking offense hung the short-handed defense out to dry against talented Tar Heel forwards. But Comfort stymied the Carolina attack time and time again with a plethora of diving stops. The Richmond native stretched his 6-5 frame to the limit to deny a Norkus header headed for the lower left corner in the 59th minute. Even after Chris Carrieri - the ACC's leading scorer - expertly dribbled his way past three Cavalier players, Comfort stopped his 18-yard blast to preserve the scoreless tie in the 48th minute. Comfort finished the game with six saves, none of them easy.
"It's the best he's played all year," Cav coach George Gelnovatch said. "Just outstanding."
But the question remains: How much of Comfort will we see come NCAA tournament time? How much will Kyle Singer play? Will the Cavalier goaltending carousel of Comfort then Singer, Singer then Comfort, continue?
True, Comfort did start all of the Cavs' games in the ACC tournament, allowing only one goal in the three games. But if Gelnovatch decided that Comfort will be the No. 1 goalkeeper, he has been keeping it to himself.
"It's still game by game," Comfort said. "I pretty much still do not know from one game to the next [who will start]. It's still up in the air."
To Gelnovatch's credit, the ACC championship game was the first game this season that Comfort looked impressive in net. He was rarely tested in the regular season, and when he did see shots, he looked uncomfortable.
The Oct. 6 game against Fairfield, when he was caught out of position on both of the Stags' goals, may have been the low point of Comfort's season.
But after a string of six solid performances dating back to an Oct. 25 game against American, Comfort appears to be a different goaltender. He is more aggressive in net, racing for loose balls with more authority than he did earlier in the season. Sunday night's goal was the first he had allowed in 489 minutes. According to Comfort, Gelnovatch has begun to indicate that the starting job is his to lose, which has helped him to mentally prepare for the games.
"It certainly helps to know that I'm playing the next game because earlier in the season it was hard to find out the day of or the day before the game," Comfort said.
Hopefully, Gelnovatch will hand Comfort the starting job based on his performance Sunday afternoon. It is hard to imagine the Cavs advancing far into the NCAA tournament with goaltending questions still hanging over their heads.
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