After a narrow defeat at the hands of ACC foe North Carolina last Saturday, the Virginia men's soccer team would have liked to bounce back with a decisive win against the American Eagles. What they got instead was a frighteningly close 2-1 victory in double overtime Wednesday, against the sub-.500 team from the Patriot League. Even more nerve-wracking for Virginia fans was that the Eagles, like four of the Cavaliers opponents before them, scored first and forced the Cavaliers to play catch-up.
Virginia will face a challenge in tomorrow night's game coming against No. 2 Clemson. The undefeated Clemson squad (8-0-1) has scored first in seven of their nine games, with the others resulting in a 4-3 win over South Carolina and a 0-0 draw with N. C. State. In these nine games, their potent offense has recorded 27 goals, compared to Virginia's 17, in 10 contests.
Virginia coach George Gelnovatch knows these stats and what to expect from the Tigers. The problem lies in formulating a game plan to stop them.
"They're athletic all over the field," Gelnovatch said. "They have a kid in Dean Richards who is one of the fastest guys in the country, if not the fastest. They went to the Final Four last year, and return much of their team. They have a lot of strengths and I'm still working on them."
On top of the pressure to make a statement against their relentless and undefeated conference rival, the Cavaliers also have to deal with the memory of last year's ACC Tournament, in which they were bounced in the first round after a 4-1 loss to none other than Clemson.
"I think it's the biggest game of the year," sophomore forward Yannick Reyering said. "I still get mad when I think about the ACC tournament from last year and I can't wait to step on that field Saturday and beat Clemson."
In spite of last year's result, Virginia has reason to believe that they still have the edge in this game. They are undefeated at home this season, and the offense has shown signs of improvement, such as creating more space and taking 25 shots against American. Gelnovatch has also been impressed with the performance of goalkeeper Ryan Burke.
"I've seen most teams in conference; I think he is the best goalie in conference," Gelnovatch said. "I've seen the better teams on the west coast, and in my book, I'd take him over anyone right now. He's making those one or two big plays to keep us in the game."
Virginia will be relying on Cristman and Reyering to maintain their current level of play, as a game with this level of importance is sure to be a close match. Cristman has scored in consecutive games, after having the lone goal against North Carolina and then tying the game against American. His reemergence should spark the rest of the offense, especially with Reyering scoring almost every game. Reyering already has nine career game-winning goals, and is only a sophomore. He leads the team with six goals this season.
"Not only are they [Clemson] a top ranked team, but we have a little juice, a little interest left over from last game to really take it to them," Cristman said. "We continue to get better and the end of this season is going to be tough, so we go just one game at a time. ... Clemson is next."
The Cavaliers look to climb back up the rankings after falling hard following the loss to North Carolina, as well as build on their 8-0-0 home record this season.
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