No. 4 men’s soccer downed Syracuse in the ACC quarterfinals Sunday afternoon 2-1 at Klockner Stadium. The No. 2 seed Cavaliers (15-1-1, 6-1-1 ACC) were propelled by a potent offense en route to defeating the No. 10 seed Orange (7-6-5, 2-4-2 ACC).
The Cavaliers had their shooting boots on early, as in the sixth minute sophomore forward Daniel Steedman took a shot from 20 yards out that was pushed away by Syracuse sophomore goalkeeper Christian Miesch.
In the 11th minute, sophomore forward Daryl Dike broke into the Orange 18-yard box as the Cavaliers looked to bring numbers into the attacking zone. Nevertheless, Dike drew a foul, sending junior midfielder Joe Bell up to the penalty spot. Bell calmly slotted the ball above a diving Miesch for his third goal of the season — putting Virginia up 1-0.
Seven minutes later, the Cavaliers found themselves on the break once again, as sophomore midfielder Bret Halsey streaked down the right side of the field. Halsey picked apart the Orange defense with a pass to Dike inside the 18-yard box, who sent it across the net to junior midfielder Nathaniel Crofts.
With a wide-open goal in front of him, Crofts sent Dike’s pass into the back of the net — giving the Cavaliers an early 2-0 lead. This was Crofts’ fourth goal of a season that has seen him start 15 matches for Virginia.
In the 23rd minute, Syracuse finally had its first shot on goal. Senior midfielder John-Austin Ricks sent a curling shot towards junior goalkeeper Colin Shutler, who was able to easily collect it.
Throughout the rest of the first half, the Orange often struggled to establish themselves in the attacking zone. Even when Syracuse was able to string together a set off passes, its offense was unable to generate quality chances.
At the end of the first half, while Virginia held a narrow lead in shots with seven to the Orange’s five, Syracuse could only muster one shot on goal compared to the Cavaliers’ five.
Once again, the start of the second half featured a dynamic Virginia offense that continued to press the Orange, as the Cavaliers posted the first three shots of the second half. Syracuse often attempted to go on the counter-attack but was stymied by strong Virginia back-line featuring junior center back Henry Kessler and freshman center back Andreas Ueland.
In the 70th minute, Syracuse had their first corner kick of the second half, which was whipped to the near post. Orange sophomore midfielder Ryan Raposo headed the ball to the far post to freshman forward Luther Archimede, who tapped it past Shutler — cutting Virginia’s lead in half.
In the 81st minute, Syracuse threatened once again, as a pass from Raposo found freshman defender Noah Singelmann to the left of the six-yard box. Singelmann sent in a low cross past Shutler and a wide open net, but a sliding effort by senior captain and defender Robin Afamefuna stopped the ball just shy of the goal-line.
“I thought the start to the first half was great, honestly, getting the two goals,” Coach George Gelnovatch said. “I think we managed the entire first half pretty good. To their credit, second half they stepped up their pressure a little bit.”
Despite the hiccups late in the match, Virginia’s defense held strong for the final 10 minutes, sealing a 2-1 win and a semifinal bid for the Cavaliers. Virginia will face No. 3 seed Wake Forest Wednesday at Klockner Stadium, and the match will be broadcast live on ACC Network.
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