No. 11 Virginia hosted Boston College on an eventful Bicentennial weekend and came away with the 1-0 victory due to a masterful free kick from junior defender Sergi Nus.
The Cavaliers (8-1-2, 2-1-2 ACC) needed to continue on the right track against ACC opponents — with a number of great teams vying for position, every in-conference victory is monumental. The Eagles (3-8-0, 0-5-0 ACC) entered Klöckner Stadium in spoiler mood, hoping to pick up their first ACC victory and stop Virginia’s recent unbeaten streak.
“[The Eagles] haven’t won a game in the conference, and I think that showed tonight — they were hungry to get some to get some points,” Virginia Coach George Gelnovatch said.
Boston College came out with an early press on the Cavalier defense — a high-risk, high-reward strategy against a dangerous offensive team. It could have resulted in an early goal off a mistake from a defender, but it instead led to the early counter-attacks and corner kicks Virginia nearly capitalized on.
“I give them credit. They were able to keep a pretty sustained level of pressuring us,” Gelnovatch said. “Normally teams in about the 60-minute mark start to wear out. And I thought they had a little extra in the tank.”
Nus is a magician on set pieces, scoring the first and only goal of the game off a free kick in the 15th minute. He curled it perfectly around the wall and nicked the right post past the outstretched arms of the keeper, before bouncing sharply into the bottom left of the net.
“I’m really happy to be able to help the team in that way,” Nus said.
Nus has gained an outstanding reputation as a defender with the threat to score, netting two of the team’s golden goals in prior contests. Virginia entered halftime with the 1-0 lead, as Nus and senior goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell worked masterfully to keep the shutout alive.
“The one thing that we talked about was scoring early, coming in at halftime having scored a goal, keeping a clean sheet,” Gelnovatch said. “It wasn’t a perfect first half otherwise, but from that standpoint, mission accomplished.”
Virginia continued to push the attack against the Eagles’ second half press, getting multiple shots on goal — with one attempt from freshman midfielder Joe Bell bouncing right off the crossbar. The Eagles could not capitalize capitalize in the second half, resulting in a 1-0 Cavalier victory and another great shutout.
Nus said Caldwell’s efforts have been essential for the team’s success.
“Jeff is for me, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in college soccer right now. It is a pleasure to be in front of him and help him,” Nus said.
The Cavaliers stay at Klöckner Stadium for their next matchup against Lehigh. The battle takes place at Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
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