Men’s Soccer: Deacons eliminate Cavaliers in ACC semifinals, 5-1

By Colin Moore
JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent

CARY, N.C. — After a massive result against highly ranked and top-seeded Pitt last Sunday in Pittsburgh, it allowed ninth-seeded Virginia to clinch a chance to play in the ACC Semifinals against fifth-seeded Wake Forest.

The Cavaliers (10-5-4, 3-3-3 ACC) battled tough under the lights at WakeMed Soccerplex on Thursday. A rainy, cold night didn’t stop either team from fighting for the entire 90 minutes, but it just didn’t go the way of the Hoos. Wake (10-4-6, 5-2-2) was able to capitalize on its opportunities early, which forced the Cavaliers to chase for the majority of the match.

The Cavaliers opened the match on the defensive, as Wake controlled most of the possession. The Hoos were looking to win the ball and play a counter attack, similar to the style they implemented at Pitt.

Wake took advantage of this and had the majority of the ball and opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, which they were able to capitalize on.

The Hoos had an early opportunity when Hayes Wood found the ball on the right flank in Wake’s defensive third.

Wood was able to hold up the ball and find Daniel Mangarov in the middle of the field, where he spun two defenders before getting his head up and playing a dangerous ball to the back post towards Parker Sloan. Sloan won the header and deflected the ball in front of the Demon Deacons’ goal before trickling just over the line on the opposite post.

Wake got on the scoring sheet in the 18th minute from a corner kick. The ball was played towards the near post, where Dylan Borso attempted to shoot the ball, but UVA’s Paul Wiese blocked the shot. Unfortunately for him, the ball ricocheted back to Borso, where he played a great ball to the back post to the head of Julien Kennedy. Kennedy was able to head the ball past Virginia keeper Tom Miles.

Minutes later, Wake scored again in the run of play. This time, the ball found the foot of Kennedy inside the box, where he was able to lay the ball back to Basit Umar just inside the box. Umar fired a great one-time shot just under Miles’ crossbar for the Demon Deacons’ second goal of the match.

“There is no doubt 25 minutes into that game where I could see that the three road trips have taken a toll on this team with the three long bus trips,” said UVA head coach George Gelnovatch.

In the second half, the Cavaliers made three substitutions and a formation change in an attempt to change the outcome of this great match. Triton Bouvous and AJ Smith came on as a striker combo, while Joey Batruoni came on in goal as well.

The Cavaliers came out of the locker room pressing Wake forcing a few early mistakes and turnovers. Gashi was able to take a shot very early, but sailed it high. Later, Joey Batrouni made a huge 1v1 save, diving full stretch to his right and denying the best scoring chance of the night while keeping the deficit at only three.

Wake Forest got another goal just eight minutes into the half after back-to-back Demon Deacon corners. The ball was recycled after the second corner and found Joel Torbic on the right flank, who shot and crossed the ball simultaneously that skipped under Batrouni and perfectly into the corner of the goal.

The Hoos got on the score sheet in the 55th minute from a goal from Beauvois. Wiese found the ball on the right side of the field with time and space, took his space and played a great ball into the box to a sliding Beauvois, who managed to direct the ball into the back of the Deacon net.

Hoos pull one back! Triton Beauvois finishes off a perfect cross from Paul Wiese 😤

WF 4, UVA 1#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/dENDm3NUZO

— Virginia Men’s Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) November 15, 2024

The Cavaliers were able to gradually build and create more chances with the personnel and formation change. Triton had another near chance where a Wake defender was able to slide in and make the block.

The Deacons had the last real chance from a penalty kick in the 75th minute from an errant UVA tackle. Cooper Flax was able to beat Batrouni for his second goal of the match (both PKs).

“We took the same approach tonight as we did on Sunday against Pitt, and when you take that approach, you want to make sure you don’t get scored on the right,” said Gelnovatch. “Unfortunately, tonight we were leggy. I’m not really sure what else to say.”

Virginia failed to claim another ACC Tournament championship, but the season is far from over, as Gelnovatch effaced post-match. The Hoos have to recover and prepare mentally, as they should be seeded for the NCAA Tournament, which is quickly approaching. The team will await the details during the Selection Show on Monday at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

GOALS
Wake: 18’ — Julien Kennedy (Dylan Borso)
Wake: 24’ — Basit Umar (Julien Kennedy)
Wake: 29’ — Cooper Flax (PK)
Wake: 52’ — Joel Torbic (Ryan Fessler)
UVA: 55’ — Triton Beauvois (Pual Wiese)
Wake: 75’ — Cooper Flax (PK)

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Triton Beauvois scored his second goal of the tournament
• Paul Wiese assisted in his fourth-consecutive game increasing his season total to 10
• With 27 career assists, Wiese ranks No. 7 all-time at UVA
• The loss snaps a three-game win streak as the team falls to 8-2 in its last 10 matches
• The match marks the first time Virginia has conceded five goals in an ACC tournament match, and marks its heaviest defeat in ACC tournament play
• The Cavaliers were outshot by a margin of 13-8
• Virginia placed a pair of shots on target compared to Wake Forest’s seven
• Tom Miles made his second consecutive start in goal