For the third time this season, the No. 11 Virginia men's soccer team was shut out at home by a ranked ACC opponent. This time, it was the No. 3 Terrapins who handed the Cavaliers the loss 2-0, scoring an early goal during both the first and second halves.
Just 1:32 into the match, the Cavaliers surrendered a goal on a Maryland corner kick. Senior goalkeeper Diego Restrepo came out to claim the cross, but the usually sure-handed player bobbled the catch, and the ball fell into the box. Soon thereafter, junior forward Casey Townsend rifled a shot that senior forward Jason Herrick redirected just inside the far post.
"That first goal should have never happened," Restrepo said. "I take blame for that. I kind of the lost the ball in the air."
Despite the point, Virginia offense pulled together to form a number of dangerous attacks. Poor crosses and imprecise finishes, however, kept the team off the board.\nSurrendering the early goal clearly proved detrimental to the team's performance, and the goalkeeper even went so far as to say he did not think the Cavaliers would have been scored on later in the game.
"I mean, you can't give a goal up like that to such a good team so early in the match," Restrepo said. "It was a big punch in the face."
And just almost three minutes after halftime, the Cavaliers were outplayed on another deadball situation. Maryland won a free kick on the right side of the pitch, and junior midfielder Matt Kassel's free kick found sophomore midfielder John Sterzer, who flicked a header past Restrepo.
"It was a lack of concentration," coach George Gelnovatch said about both goals.
Gelnovatch was full of praise for Virginia's opponent, complimenting the Terrapins' execution of the restarts.
"When you get hit like that early in both halves, it really disrupts you," he said. "And on the flip side, it uplifts the other team."
The Cavaliers' two best opportunities came from junior forward Brian Ownby. On two separate occasions - in the beginning of the 24th and just shy of the 54th minute - the forward was able to get ahead of the Maryland defenders on break-away situations. But his shots were off target on both occasions.
The team will conclude at-home play against Campbell Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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