CARY, N.C. -- On a windy but beautiful night at the pristine SAS stadium in Cary, N.C. the Virginia men's soccer team held the fate of the rest of their season in their own hands when the No. 3 seeded Cavaliers took on the No. 6 Tigers. A win would have brought them to .500 on the year and keep their NCAA hopes alive, while a loss had the potential to end their season entirely, finishing two games below .500.
After regulation time and a pair of overtime golden goal periods, the match was still scoreless. The decision was made with penalty kicks and the Cavaliers emerged victorious on the foot of freshmen Ian Holder as he put away the winning goal to advance Virginia into the semi-finals against Wake Forest tomorrow.
"It wasn't the prettiest thing, especially near the end," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "We found a way to finish it off with some freshmen playing some very key roles."
One of those freshman was goalkeeper Ryan Burke, who came up big in overtime, saving the first and third shots from Clemson, with the second shot richoting off the crossbar to give Virginia a 3-0 advantage after the first three shots. His performance spurred Virginia on to victory.
"As a freshman, that's big time," senior captain Matt Oliver said. "He's done well for us this season ever since he got in front of the net."
Throughout the first half, the Cavaliers came out firing, unleashing shots from all angles and blasting balls 20 yards from goal.
Freshman midfielder Will Hall and sophomore midfielder Joe Vide both had good looks at the goal midway through the first half but could not put the ball away, a problem the Cavaliers had last Friday night against VCU.
Tonight's game also marked the return of senior defender Matt Oliver to Virginia's starting line-up after missing four games with an injured hamstring. The Cavaliers finally had their main starting back line consisting of Oliver, Hunter Freemen, Jeff Tuman and John Hartman, starting the contest.
As the second 90 minutes began, the match took on more of an attack and counter-attack style of play, with both teams getting good chances on offense.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Clemson had one of their best looks on goal in the game. The Tigers' Olatomiwa Ogunsola gathered a pass on the right side, felt pressure on his back from Virginia's Zane Hill, but used his speed to turn the corner on Hill and speed down the sideline and drew a corner-kick by knocking the ball off of Hill's leg.
On the ensuing play, a low hard cross found its way to the foot of Clemson's Grant Kevins, who poked the ball just wide of the net, keeping the game scoreless.
With time winding down, both teamsthrew everything at each other but as the final whistle blew, all prepared for overtime.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer and some late game heroics from Burke, the game was recorded as a tie, but the semifinal birth came down to penalty kicks.
Burke denied Clemson's Paul Souders, Stuart Holden and Bradley Gibson, while Virginia's John Hartman and Hunter Freeman each converted their opportunities. The Cavaliers' Will Hall missed his shot, and Tigers' Andre Borges' shot found a way past Burke. After each team's third shot, the score was 2-1 and the weight was on the Cavaliers' fourth shooter, Ian Holder who buried his shot behind Clemson goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi and advanced the Cavaliers to the semifinal round, where they will face Wake Forest, looking to return to the ACC championship game on Sunday.
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