Cary, N.C. -- One half of Virginia domination spilled over into another half of Virginia goal scoring yesterday, as the Cavaliers knocked Duke out of the ACC Tournament in the first round with a 3-1 victory.
While Virginia played faster, smarter and more successfully than the Blue Devils in the first half, the rivals went into the break scoreless. With a little more pep in their step in the second half, Duke threatened the Cavaliers several times within the first few minutes of the second period. Although play in the second half was much more even than in the first, Virginia took a comfortable lead with two goals in four minutes more than an hour into the match.
Both tallies were easy-ins off of perfectly placed crosses. To initially put the Cavaliers on the board, freshman David Rosenbaum and sophomore Ian Holder simultaneously took on a single Blue Devil opponent, distracting the defense. Holder then passed the ball across the box to senior Mike Littlefield, who effortlessly slid it past Duke keeper Justin Trowbridge.
"As we go through the season we form bonds and we know where each other are going to be," Holder said. "[Jeremy] Barlow made a good [pass] across the box to draw two guys and I just saw Mike streaking. It's just an easy play when people know where to be at."
The second goal was a freshman achievement, as Barlow one-timed a cross from Rosenbaum -- his second assist of the game.
"David Rosenbaum is just starting to come into his own," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "He didn't even travel with us for the first half of the year. Now he's working his way onto the field, not just as a guy to come out and run around but as an effective guy coming off the bench and putting pressure on other teams."
The two goals provided a stark contrast to the Cavaliers' first-half offensive efforts, which looked more frenzied and less collaborative. The pace of the first half had Virginia knocking the ball around in the Duke box with second, third and even fourth looks at the goal without success. As the Cavaliers settled down after the break, they were able to capitalize on those opportunities.
But Duke did not allow Virginia to go completely unanswered. Three minutes after the Cavaliers' second goal, the Blue Devils responded with a header off a set piece which flew past Virginia goalie Ryan Burke, who was struggling against the setting sun.
Unwilling to let Duke have the last word, Holder headed in a perfectly placed cross from Barlow with 12 minutes left in the game.
Though the Blue Devils had suffered a heartbreaking loss to Virginia in Charlottesville in the regular season -- Duke led the Cavaliers by two in that game with five minutes left and lost in overtime 3-2 -- they did not come out with the fervor many Virginia fans expected.
While the game was physical, the Cavaliers looked like the team out for revenge, not the Blue Devils, and that lack of passion is what likely sent Duke packing.
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