The Virginia men's soccer team was presented with an opportunity Sunday afternoon to banish numerous demons of postseasons past. After regulation and two overtimes, the Cavaliers' exorcism proved as inconclusive as their finishing, and Virginia drew, 2-2, with UCLA in the concluding game of the 2001 Virginia Soccer Classic Tournament.
The draw was particularly unsatisfactory given that No. 7 UCLA entered with a three-game winning streak against the No. 3 Cavaliers, including the 1997 NCAA championship game and a 1999 NCAA quarterfinal match at Klockner Stadium.
"Anytime you play a team like UCLA it's unfulfilling when you don't get a victory," Virginia midfielder Kyle Martino said. "Because we haven't come away with a victory the last four times means that every time we face UCLA it's going to be in the back of our heads. It's really going to be a sour day if we can't get a victory out of it."
Despite an early lead and an impressive display of offensive ball movement, Virginia was unable to capitalize on its 23-12 advantage in shots taken.
"I definitely think that we were the better team," Cavalier forward Alecko Eskandarian said. "I thought it was great soccer, it was a great match. Both teams put everything out on the line, but you have to put the ball in the net."
The Cavaliers pulled out in front in the 26th minute on a free kick by Martino. After being taken down by a UCLA defender, Martino sent the resulting 25-yard free kick skipping into the lower right side of the net, with midfielder Jonathan Cole providing the dummy run in front of Bruins' goalkeeper Zach Wells.
The Cavaliers held the lead until the 41st minute, when UCLA defender Scot Thompson headed home off a free kick from teammate Ryan Futagaki.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute, when forward Tim Pierce received a through ball and broke in alone on Cavalier goalkeeper David Comfort. Comfort blocked Pierce's first attempt, but Pierce knocked the rebound past Comfort and a diving defender to register the score.
The equalizer, for the second game in a row, came from Eskandarian, who spent the entire game dancing through the UCLA defense. Juking three defenders as he moved from the right to the center, Eskandarian unleashed a 25-yard laser into the lower right corner of the net that sent some 2,500 Virginia fans into ecstatic celebration.
The celebrations were tempered an hour later, after the Cavaliers proved unable to crack the Bruin goalposts despite repeated point-blank attempts.
"We should have finished it off," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "The last 10 minutes of regulation and the first 15 minutes of overtime they were just hanging on."
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