The Cavaliers bounced back from their weekend loss against North Carolina with a scrappy victory against in-state Liberty last night. Sophomore midfielder Ari Dimas converted a penalty kick in the 81st minute after a Liberty handball in the box to give Virginia a 2-1 win.
Coach George Gelnovatch was mostly pleased with his team's effort.
"The first half was good; the second half left a little bit to be desired," he said. "Liberty is a playoff team. It should mean something."
During the opening stages of the match, Virginia attacked with creativity and urgency. In the fifth minute, the Cavaliers' strong opening was rewarded when Dimas' corner found a lurking Brian Ownby, who back-heeled the ball into the Liberty net for the junior forward's third goal of the season.
"I was in front of the goal blocking the keeper view, and the ball just bounced right in front of me," Ownby said.
At the half, the outcome of the match was still far from certain. Virginia was still controlling the flow of play, but Liberty was still creating chances, managing three shots against Virginia's nine. In the 56th minute, Liberty capitalized on a Virginia defensive error. A flighted ball slipped through Virginia's defense and found Liberty midfielder Alex Verville. The junior averted a sliding Diego Restrepo and slotted the ball just inside the far post from a tight angle to level the score.
"I hesitated because I thought [junior defender] Mike [Volk] was going to get it," Restrepo said. "We just gotta get better and be clean in the back."
After the goal, both teams played with a renewed intensity. Through the aggressive play, the Cavaliers retained their composure. In the 81st minute, a shot from Virginia substitute senior defender T.J. Cyrus was blocked by the hand of a Flames defender inside the box. A confident Dimas stepped to the spot and buried the penalty in the left side of the net as the Liberty keeper dove right.
"I knew Ari was going to put it away when he stepped up," Ownby said.
With the win, the Cavaliers remain undefeated against the Flames all-time, having won 18 out of the teams' 19 matches. The victory also stretched Virginia's unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents to 18, as the team has not dropped any of these matches since the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
The Cavaliers now prepare to take on Alabama A&M this Saturday at Kl
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