WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Everyone knew it had to end sometime, but no one wanted it to end like this.
Following a controversial call in the first period of overtime, Wake Forest (7-3-1, 1-2) scored a golden goal in sudden death to hand No. 3 Virginia (9-1-0, 2-1) its first loss of the season by the score of 2-1.
After eight minutes of overtime that featured little in the way of serious chances for either team, Wake Forest sophomore Elizabeth Remy broke free behind the Cavalier back line and received a chip pass from a fellow Demon Deacon. On the play, the far line judge -- who is responsible for calling offside penalties -- raised his flag indicating Remy was ineligible to receive the pass. However, the center referee waved off the offside call insinuating he had a better view of the play. Remy then took two dribbles and pushed it past Virginia goalkeeper Christina de Vries for the game-winning goal.
"I think it was difficult more so the way we lost than anything," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "It's just a tough way to lose a game for our kids. Especially after giving the kind of effort I thought we gave away from home."
For Virginia, the first half will be remembered as the half that should have been. Wake's extremely physical play resulted in numerous free and corner kicks in and around the Demon Deacon box. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, solid play from freshman goalkeeper Heather Currie and the rest of the Wake defense prevented the Cavaliers from capitalizing on a first-half advantage in shots (5-2) and corner kicks (5-2).
"When a team is coming off two losses, you can only expect [physical play]," junior midfielder Sarah Huffman said. "We weren't expecting any different."
In a similar fashion to the first half, the Cavaliers came out in the second half clearly the aggressor of the two teams. But once again, Currie repeatedly kept the Demon Deacons in the game as Cavalier shots ricocheted off her gloves for most of the half.
A scary moment for Virginia fans came with just under 30 minutes left to play in the second half. On a broken play that found Remy racing toward Virginia's net unmarked, de Vries saved the day by taking advantage of a bad touch by Remy and slid in to smother the ball. However, de Vries was slow to get up on the play as it appeared Remy's cleat found more of de Vries than the ball. With no healthy backup goalkeeper on the roster, the Cavaliers nervously peered on as de Vries managed to get back on her feet and remain in the game.
Finally, with 15:17 remaining in the second half, one of sophomore Shannon Foley's bending corner kicks found senior Lindsay Gusick's head on the near post notching the first goal of the match. Still rejoicing in the glory of finally breaking through the Wake defense, the Cavaliers were caught napping just 32 seconds later as Remy launched a shot from the top of the Virginia box over de Vries and off the crossbar. The ball landed at the foot of Wake leading-scorer Sarah Kozey who calmly tied the game at one. Both teams had a few minor chances to steal the game in the closing minutes, but neither were able to capitalize as the game went into extra play.
All in all, it was a frustrating first loss for a Virginia team that played well throughout the tough, demanding ACC away game. But Virginia has little time to lick its wounds as the Cavaliers face another conference rival on the road tomorrow night in Maryland at 7 p.m.
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