Virginia was on the other side of the seeding last season. A No. 9 seed in the 2024 ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers’ quarterfinal game came against No. 1 seed Pittsburgh. On the road, they knocked off the heavily favored Panthers, 2-0.
This season, though, they have occupied their shoes. The No. 1 seed Cavaliers faced No. 9 seed North Carolina at home in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal Sunday night, with last season’s upset in mind.
“I'm very happy we were the ones that did it to Pitt and could see what that looked like on the other end,” Coach George Gelnovatch said a couple days before. “I think it's on the back of our head too, as a little reminder.”
That, among other factors, helped Virginia beat the Tar Heels 2-1. Then they headed to Cary, N.C., for a semifinal against No. 12 seed California and won again. The Cavaliers will play for an ACC title Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 7 seed SMU.
The matchups alone in the tournament have been advantageous — Virginia dodged both No. 5 Duke and No. 3 NC State in the semifinal, for one. But the circumstances are also positive.
The first-round bye and a nine-day gap between the regular-season finale and the quarterfinal matchup helped the Cavaliers. It allowed them to get two starters in graduate defender Sebastian Pop and senior midfielder Jesus De Vicente back from nagging injuries that may have kept them out of an earlier game.
Even beyond that, the tournament has been far less taxing for the Cavaliers than most or than last season. Virginia was not able to enjoy the luxury of rest last year. In the first round, the Cavaliers traveled 248 miles down south to face No. 8 seed NC State, grinding out a hectic 2-1 win. Four days later, the team packed its bags for a trip 317 miles up north to Pittsburgh.
The team’s last stop was in Cary, another 195 miles of travel just four days later. The travel took a heavy toll on Virginia, and the Cavaliers lost to the eventual champions Wake Forest in a 5-1 demolition.
“We were beat up,” Gelnovatch said last season. “By the time we got to the Wake game, we were pretty beat down. By traveling out to NC State and coming back and then to Pittsburgh and coming back and then from here and going back, I think it's really hard to do that.”
This year, the situation could not be more different. Virginia stayed home for its rest period, stayed home again for its quarterfinal, then traveled south for the weekend afterward. That has helped its stamina. Against North Carolina, Virginia seized control in the second half, its fresher legs winning out.
Against California, the same thing happened. The Golden Bears had traveled cross-country to Duke while Virginia rested at home, then zigzagged back home to the West Coast while Virginia played a home game. They outplayed Virginia in the first half Thursday. But the tide slowly turned after halftime. Gelnovatch claimed exhaustion was not a factor. But it will be, he said, Sunday.
“[SMU has] played an extra game,” Gelnovatch said. “I don't think it's an advantage tonight for us, because we had a bye. But I think it will be on Sunday.”
On top of the bye, Virginia has the depth to keep its legs even more fresh. Against North Carolina, five minutes after a crowd-silencing goal by the Tar Heels, Virginia inserted a flurry of substitutes, providing a much needed jolt. The masterful switch resulted in an equalizer four minutes later by senior forward Triton Beauvois, his first goal of the season.
North Carolina made three substitutions that played a combined 59 minutes. Virginia made six. They totaled 188 minutes.
The abundance of fresh legs aided the Cavaliers, and it will help tremendously as they reach the end of the grueling tournament setup. On any given night, no matter the magnitude, the Cavaliers can plug in whoever and expect quality results.
It has happened this season with sophomore midfielder Luke Burns, coming off the bench for an eventual game winning goal against No. 6 Louisville in the 73rd minute. It even happened with junior forward AJ Smith and freshman forward Sami Oulouheu coming into the match to score crucial goals in a 3-2 comeback win against Milwaukee.
The endless weaponry will give Virginia another leg up against SMU.
The Mustangs are fresh off giving a 5-1 beatdown to Syracuse in the other semifinal matchup. Coming into the final with guns blazing, SMU has tallied 11 goals so far in the ACC tournament, the most of any team.
The Cavaliers and Mustangs are familiar foes, facing off two weeks ago in their final matchup of the season. Virginia was able to sneak a 1-0 win and capture the ACC regular-season title on SMU’s home field.
A win in the ACC finale will mark the Cavaliers’ first ACC Tournament title since 2019. Standing in their way of victory is a feisty Mustang team with a chip on its shoulder.
Virginia captured the regular-season title against SMU. It could capture the tournament title against the same team.
It has every chance to do so.
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