Friday night at Klöckner Stadium, the No. 15 Virginia men’s soccer team finished the regular season with a 1-0 overtime win against conference foe Boston College. The Cavaliers secured the six seed in next week’s ACC Tournament, setting up a first round match with No. 13 Wake Forest Tuesday in Winston Salem, N.C.
Friday night, however, was not so much about where the Cavaliers (9-4-4, 4-3-4 ACC) are going as where they have been. Virginia’s four fourth-years — senior defender Kevin McBride, redshirt junior midfielder Bryan Lima, senior forward Cameron Chavira, and redshirt junior goalkeeper Calle Brown — played what will likely be their final regular season games. The departing Cavaliers posed for pictures with their coaches and bouquet-holding parents before the game, and their younger teammates clapped from their places on the sideline. The night air was chilly, but Virginia radiated warmth.
“It was a little surreal,” McBride said. “I’m hoping we have one more, maybe two more here — [in the] NCAA [Tournament] — but I’m definitely going to miss playing under the lights here at Klöckner.”
Sophomore midfielder Brian James scored the game-winning goal seven minutes into the extra session, meeting freshman midfielder Patrick Foss’ bounced free kick and redirecting it past Eagles sophomore goalkeeper Alex Kapp from 10 yards out. The goal settled not only the contest but also the tie between Virginia and Boston College (7-8-2, 4-5-1) in the middle of the conference standings. It also bolstered Virginia’s case for a return to Klöckner in the first round of the 32-team NCAA Tournament.
“It’s a nice victory at home, a nice way to send those guys off, and hopefully we get another game at home,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said.
Brown made the first start of his Virginia career in goal three years after redshirting in 2010, and he competed with veteran poise throughout, soundly judging when to venture outside the goalposts and when to stay put for forthcoming shots. He dove to deflect a close-range attempt by Boston College junior midfielder Giuliano Frano in the 58th minute and, six minutes earlier, took the ball from Zeiko Lewis — the ACC leader in assists — before the freshman midfielder could set up a real opportunity for an Eagle score.
“He played amazing,” McBride said. “Good in the air, good coming out, you know, organizing the back. And his distribution was good as well.”
Virginia and Boston College had combined for 60 goals in 32 games before their meeting, and both teams featured a top-five ACC scoring offense entering the game. The match Friday, however, was a defensive grind for much of the evening. The Cavaliers and Eagles attempted just three shots combined in the first half, and the most promising of those looks was Foss’ 45-yard prayer in the closing seconds. Kapp jumped to punch the ball out of bounds for his only save in regulation.
Virginia finally found seams in Boston College’s defense in the opening minutes of overtime. Junior forward Ryan Zinkhan crossed the ball to sophomore midfielder Marcus Salandy-Defour for a close-range chance in the 92nd minute, but Kapp was in position for the reaction save. Three minutes later, Kapp sprinted forward to knock the ball loose from Cavalier freshman midfielder Jordan Allen, quickly got back on his feet and then hit the turf again for a one-handed save on junior midfielder Eric Bird’s try. Two minutes later, James broke through with the game-winning tally.
“I thought Boston College started to wear down a little bit and we started to get at them,” Gelnovatch said. “I liked our chances in overtime.”
The Cavaliers concluded the regular season 3-0-4 in extra-time affairs, and James’ goal pushed Virginia’s season total to 33 scores from 12 different players. The team’s late-game mettle and array of scoring options should prove valuable as the Cavaliers head into postseason play.
Virginia’s results in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments will serve as one measurement of its success in 2013. Friday night, however, the Cavaliers’ four seniors showed that games won and lost do not tell the whole story of the teams and players out on the field.
“It’s been pretty special,” McBride said of his class’ years on the team. “You know, we’ve all had our rough patches, and we’ve all stuck through it and kind of just stayed the course and fought through the hard times.”
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