Wahoo Wire

North Carolina ended UVa’s shutout streak Friday night, scoring a 59^th minute goal off a corner to beat the hosts at Klöckner Stadium. Though the final score was 1-0, the game was very much a tale of “two’s.” Two halves; two top ranked teams (#3 vs. #2); and, most importantly, two entirely different Cavalier teams.

It looked promising for the home side at the outset. In the 3^rd minute, forward Brian Ownby delighted the crowd with a bit of skill before forcing the keeper to his right with a low driven shot. In the 8^th, it was Ownby again, this time being put through after combining with fellow striker Will Bates and midfielder Ari Dimas. Soon after, the Cavaliers were unable to convert still another chance. The initial minutes were all UVa.

The Tar Heels hit their stride, however, taking the momentum during the middle portion of the half as they held possession and created excellent chances. The first real threat required a superhuman effort for Virginia goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, a preseason all-American. After Dimas was beat at the top of the box, Restrepo made a snap save to his right on a short-range attempt. Later, in the 36^th minute, Chapel Hill squandered what was undoubtedly the best chance of the game, a wide-open look at goal from 8 yards out. Unfortunately for the boys in light blue, forward Carlos McCrary put it well over the goal as a relieved Restrepo looked on.

Although the Cavs bounced back at the end of the first period, there were signs in the first half that didn’t bode well for the defending national champions. Passes were sloppy. Marking was shoddy. People looked out of place.  Defender Mike Volk, solid for the whole game, pointed to North Carolina’s pressure. “They kept coming down our throats, and we just had a little miscommunication in the back,” he said, before reminding that “…it’s still early in the season. It’s nothing too much to worry about. We’ll get them next time.”

The second half did not begin well for the Cavaliers. Looking nothing like the energized, aggressive, self-possessed team that started the game, they were threatened early, in the 50^th minute, when confusion in the box allowed freshman midfielder Bruno Castro to loft a beautifully curled ball into the top right corner of the net. Players celebrated (with somersaults!) before to the crowd’s great relief it was announced that the play was offsides.

A deflection soon after in the Carolina box was a brief bright spot for the Cavs but the ball was aptly cleared by the defense.  Virginia did have its fair share of chances in the second half, but these brief moments of inspiration from the forwards (who were excellent throughout) were secondary to the increasingly worrisome ineffectuality of the Virginia midfielders and defenders. In the 59^th minute, these errors proved costly.

After being granted a corner, Carolina defender David Farfan touched the ball short to Midfielder Kirk Urso, who curled a ball toward the near post. Three Virginia defenders, the goalkeeper, and at least one Tar Heel looked on as the ball inexplicably landed in the net. Even Restrepo was confused. “I really don’t know,” he said when asked about it. “Maybe a little miscommunication in the back.”

As soon as the 1 was tallied on the scoreboard, the Cavaliers immediately became a different team. They appeared downtrodden and beaten despite the fact that more than 30 minutes remained to be played. “Giving up a soft goal just kills you mentally,” Restrepo noted, giving an excellent description of what the crowd of 3,768 surely saw.

At times, 40 yards separated the backs from the midfielders as players drifted, barely present on the field. Missed markings were a regularity, and players bunched up continually, with three or four players at times crowding the ball in the midfield. Communication was nowhere to be found. Players received the ball without being told of pressure, and on multiple occasions, collisions between teammates stopped what looked to be promising attacks.

Though the forwards continued to create, their tireless work was in vain, and chances in the 70^th, 76^th, and 77^th minutes amounted to nothing, often because of poor positioning on the part of the midfield and backs. Coach George Gelnovatch, however, maintained that he was satisfied with his team’s form, saying that “although [he] wasn’t quite happy with the second half” he could take positives from the movement and style of the first half. He and Volk, however, were both quick to remind that North Carolina is a very good team. And it showed.