After Saturday’s deflating blowout football loss to Southern Cal, Virginia’s sports weekend only got worse Sunday. The Virginia men’s soccer team was beaten at Klöckner Stadium by Southern Methodist University 3-1 Sunday evening in the final game of the Virginia Soccer Classic. The Mustangs dealt Virginia a second straight loss at home while the Cavaliers failed again to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Following Friday night’s 1-0 loss at the hands of St. John’s, Virginia now drops to 0-2 on the season.
“The story of the weekend was us not finishing our chances,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. “Part of it is being young, part of it is being unlucky and part of it is our fault, and we need to step up and take responsibility for that.”
The first half of Sunday’s game got off to a lightning-quick start as Virginia controlled the early action. The Cavaliers kept up the intensity for the first five to 10 minutes, setting the pace of play. Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Simpson nearly created a scoring opportunity in the fifth minute when he played a through pass to junior midfielder Neil Barlow 10 yards in front of the goal. SMU sophomore goalkeeper Craig Hill, however, sprinted out of the goal to deny the Virginia shot.
Eventually the frantic pace set by both teams began to slow as both groups settled into the game. Much to Virginia’s chagrin, SMU shook the dust off and began putting pressure on Virginia sophomore goalkeeper Dan Louisignau. The Mustangs got a great look a little more than 15 minutes into the half when a free kick came dangerously close to Virginia’s goal. Louisignau, however, swooped in to defuse the situation and bail out the Virginia back line.
In the 27th minute, the Mustangs got even closer to putting home the game’s first goal as they peppered Louisignau with two shots on goal and a corner kick. Louisignau, however, came up with two back-to-back saves, one of which came on a one-on-one shot from 10 yards out. As SMU’s corner kick sailed over most everyone’s heads, Virginia was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Five minutes later, however, disaster struck for Virginia. SMU midfielder Arthur Ivo played a brilliant through-ball that midfielder Gabe Arredondo was able to drive home. Arredondo’s goal gave SMU a 1-0 lead with less than 13 minutes remaining in the half. SMU hung on to its lead for the remainder of the period, despite rough play and the issuing of two yellow cards. The first half ended with SMU leading Virginia 1-0.
Virginia started things off quickly again in the second half when junior midfielder Matt Mitchell got off a good-looking shot in the opening seconds. Mitchell’s attempt, however, was stopped by Hill.
The Cavaliers appeared to catch a break in the 61st minute when freshman forward Chris Agorsor played a beautiful pass to freshman forward Brian Ownby just outside of the box. Ownby was tackled from behind, and Virginia was rewarded with a free kick from just outside of the box. The Cavaliers’ attempt, however, was blocked before it could reach the goal. One minute later, Virginia had its best opportunity of the game when the Cavaliers were awarded another free kick from just outside the box — but it too was blocked and cleared before the Cavaliers could capitalize on the rebound.
Minutes later, following a great shot attempt from Ownby, SMU added its second goal of the evening as junior forward Dane Saintus drove the ball into the bottom left corner past Louisignau to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
After the Mustangs added insult to injury by recording their third goal of the night, Virginia finally got on the scoreboard. In the 73rd minute Mitchell played a centering pass to Agorsor, who was streaking down the field, five yards in front of the goal. Agorsor beat every SMU defender to the ball and slammed the ball past Hill to record his first career goal and Virginia’s first of the season. The remainder of the game saw several opportunities for Virginia, but the Cavaliers were unable to take advantage of any situation.
“When you lose two games you feel like crap,” Gelnovatch said. “But I know this is a good team.”
Friday night, Virginia suffered a disappointing one goal loss, as the Red Storm shut out Virginia. The Cavaliers were unable to get on the scoreboard despite outshooting St. John’s 17-7 and holding an 8-1 edge in corner kicks. Ownby had two shots on goal in the contest, including a close call in the 88th minute that would have tied the game. The freshman star was unable to capitalize, however, and Virginia walked away from Klöckner with a season-opening loss.
“It’s never fun losing two in a row,” Louisignau said. “Seeing how many opportunities we had was difficult but we know we’re a good team and we’re still keeping our heads high.”
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