The Virginia men's soccer team hopes to end its four game road trip on a high note tonight against in-state rivals William & Mary. The game, at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, kicks off at 7:30 pm.
The Cavaliers (3-3, 0-2 ACC) lost Saturday to defending national champions North Carolina, 2-1, extending their losing streak to three games, the worst run since 1981.
Junior Midfielder Alecko Eskandarian had his eighth goal in Saturday's game, scoring off a turnover midway through the first half, but the Tar Heels responded twice in the following four minutes. Both teams were silent for the rest of the game, although Virginia outshot UNC 6-1 in the second half.
The Cavaliers have been playing an overall solid game, but the opposing team always seems to capitalize on their mistakes or momentary lack of concentration.
"We feel good about ourselves, relax for one little minute, and bad things happen," senior forward Rob Wright said. "We need to work on concentrating for all 90 minutes, eliminating those mental lapses."
There is no question of Virginia's ability to win games -- they defeated Kentucky, Rhode Island and Virginia Commonwealth earlier in the season -- and are ranked one of the top teams in the nation. Currently, however, they are searching for a way to end the disappointing streak.
"Right now we're trying to find what it takes to put it back together,"
junior midfielder Jacob LeBlanc said. "We haven't been getting a lot of breaks, but I'm still positive and I think things are going to start turning around."
The Cavs will have to watch out for the Tribe's senior forward Carlos Garcia, who led both the CAA and the team in scoring last year, senior midfielder Ralph Bean and junior midfielder Phillip Hucles, who lead the team in goals with three each.
Virginia once again will turn to Eskandarian, who leads the team with eight out of their 13 goals this season, and was named the ACC co-player of the week earlier this month.
The team has focused on a defensive mentality.
"We need to keep them off the board in the first half" Leblanc said. "We have to take care of defensive responsibilities before trying to go forward."
The psychological states that accompany a losing streak, a road trip and the home field advantage are against Virginia in this game, but the Cavaliers know they have the potential to win, granted they hold their concentration.
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