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No. 1 men’s soccer draws Boston College, snapping a 10-match winning streak

The Cavaliers outshot the Eagles 21-3, but only a right-footed strike by junior defender Spencer Patton was able to find the net

<p>Friday night, junior defender Spencer Patton scored his third goal of the season, playing 58 solid minutes for Virginia.&nbsp;</p>

Friday night, junior defender Spencer Patton scored his third goal of the season, playing 58 solid minutes for Virginia. 

No. 1 men’s soccer battled Boston College under heavy rain in Newton, Mass., Friday, drawing the Eagles (7-2-3, 1-2-2 ACC) 1-1. The Cavaliers (10-0-1, 4-0-1 ACC) held Boston College to a single shot on goal while challenging the Eagles’ sophomore goalkeeper Christian Garner with 10 shots on goal. 

Virginia started the match firing, putting six shots on target in the first half that were all knocked away by Garner. In the 36th minute, the Cavaliers had an unfortunate break, as a shot by junior forward Irakoze Donasiyano clanged off the right post. 

Additionally, Virginia’s vaunted defense — which has now only allowed two goals on the season — shut down Boston College in the first 45 minutes of play, holding the Eagles to one shot and one corner kick. 

However, in the second half, the Cavaliers were finally able to break through the Boston College defense. In the 57th minute, junior midfielder Joe Bell sent a pass to sophomore forward Daryl Dike, who laid it off to junior defender Spencer Patton from 15 yards out. Patton shot the ball across the goal and past the outstretched arms of Garner to put Virginia up 1-0. 

This was Patton’s third goal of the season, and the fourth and sixth assists for Bell and Dike, respectively.  

The lead didn’t last long for the Cavaliers, and in the 65th minute the Eagles knotted the game at 1-1 with an own-goal by freshman defender Andreas Ueland. Boston College freshman midfielder Mike Suski sent a low cross into the 18-yard box that deflected off of Ueland’s foot and traveled past junior goalkeeper Colin Shutler. 

This marked the end of a six-match shutout streak, the longest since 2009, and 692 total minutes without conceding a goal for Virginia.

The Cavaliers continually pressed the Eagles through the rest of the match, attempting to find a seam in the Boston College defense. However, the match ended in a draw after two overtime periods. 

As a whole, Virginia dominated Boston College offensively, outshooting the Eagles 21-3 and taking 14 corner kicks to Boston College’s one. The match was characterized by continual offensive pushes that were unable to result in a goal, but showed that the Cavaliers have all the pieces of an elite offense. 

Virginia takes on in-state rival No. 17 James Madison Tuesday . The Dukes have defeated two ranked opponents this season — including then-No. 1 Wake Forest — and will look to topple another No. 1 opponent in the Cavaliers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Klockner Stadium, and the match will be televised on ACC Network. 

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