Men's Soccer: WVU Falls to No. 2 UVA in OT
September 19, 2006 10:06 PM | General
September 19, 2006
BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 8 West Virginia University men’s soccer team lost to No. 2 Virginia, 2-1, in overtime on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in Charlottesville, Va., before a crowd of 2,171 at Klöckner Stadium.
“We played well tonight,” said head coach Marlon LeBlanc. “We controlled the second half of play. Virginia got away with one tonight.”
The Mountaineers (6-1-2, 3-0-1) put themselves in a hole early when junior Paul Cunningham received a red card 32 minutes into the first half. Playing a man down almost proved costly just before halftime as UVA’s Nico Colaluca fired a shot from four-yards out that required a diving save from goalkeeper Nick Noble to keep the score tied 0-0 at half.
Colaluca ended up finding the back of the net in the 59th minute when he beat Noble from 12-yards out on a well placed shot. The junior was assisted on the goal by teammates Jonathon Villanueva and Adam Cristman.
The sides were returned to even when Cavalier Sean Hinkle was sent off with a red card in the 60th minute. The card re-energized the Mountaineer team as in the 79th minute senior forward Jarrod Smith netted his sixth goal of the season on an assist from midfielder Dan Stratford.
“We were definitely the better team once the sides were even in the second half.” said LeBlanc. “But it was good to see us play a man down with the best team in the country.”
In the final 10 minutes of regulation, Stratford fired off three shots for the Mountaineers but none found the back of the net. UVA got off two shots of its own before the whistle sounded.
Virginia’s Colaluca would come calling again in overtime, this time with the game winner. The Coventry, R.I., native found the goal this time off of a headed cross into the box from teammate Yannick Reyering.
UVA (8-0-0, 2-0-0) entered the Tuesday’s match ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA coaches’ poll and No. 1 by Soccer America, SoccerTimes.com and CollegeSoccerNews.com.
West Virginia will look to rebound on Saturday, Sept. 23, when it returns home to host No. 21 Seton Hall. The Mountaineers kick off against their BIG EAST foe at 7 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
