Men’s Soccer: Hoos strike twice in :20 to defeat Wolfpack in ACC first round

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Second-half substitutes Triton Beauvois and David Okore combined to score a pair of goals as the Virginia men’s soccer team came from behind to defeat No. 21 NC State by a score of 2-1 on Friday night at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh.

Ninth-seeded Virginia (9-5-3) advances to the ACC quarterfinal round for the third consecutive season after eliminating the eighth-seeded Wolfpack (9-3-5).

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a cagey opening 20 minutes, the Cavaliers registered a pair of scoring chances in the first half but were ultimately outshot by the Wolfpack by a margin of 6-2.

NC State would break through in the 36th minute, as Phillip Donovan flicked a pass from the top of the penalty area on to Taig Healy who finished low at the far post, giving the Wolfpack a 1-0 advantage that it would take to the halftime break.

Five minutes past the hour mark, the Wolfpack had an opportunity to double its lead as Henrique Santos worked the ball back to Haley at the top of the box. A well-struck attempt was driven to the goal, but the strong left hand of a diving Tom Miles pushed the ball out of harm’s way.

Entering the game at the start of the second half, it was Beauvois who would pull the Cavaliers back to level terms. Paul Wiese served up a curling cross with pinpoint accuracy as Beauvois headed the ball past the goalkeeper with power for 1-1.

Just 20 seconds later, Virginia had completely flipped the game on its head as Okorie, another Cavalier substitute, placed a low effort inside the far post off a cross from Beauvois to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead.

In a frantic final two minutes of play, Miles was called upon to make another crucial save while center back Nick Dang came up with a game-saving goal-line clearance to secure the 2-1 victory and book Virginia’s place in the quarterfinals.

GOALS
NCST: 36’ — Taig Healy (Phillip Donovan, Yves Tcheuyap)
UVA: 72’ — Triton Beauvois (Paul Wiese)
UVA: 73’ — David Okorie (Triton Beauvois)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Beauvois recorded his first goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1
• Beauvois’ last goal came in 2022, a game-winning strike to top then-No. 18 Clemson (10/15/22)
• With three points on the night (1g, 1a), Beauvois set a career-high mark
• Okorie scored the first goal of his career which served as the game’s winning goal
• Wiese notched his 25th career assist and is now tied for 7th all-time at UVA
• Wiese’s eight assists on the season leads the team and ranks second in the ACC
• Miles made a season-high three saves on the night while playing the entire second half

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers have won seven of their last eight games
• Virginia records its first comeback win in an ACC Tournament game since a 3-1 win over Clemson in the ACC Championship Game (11/17/19)
• The Cavaliers have reached the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament for the third-consecutive season
• Virginia improves to 47-20-14 all-time in the ACC Tournament
• UVA records its second comeback victory of the season

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

“We decided to show them something different to start the game – obviously we weren’t counting on getting scored on. In the second half, we switched back to a more aggressive shape and probably caught them off guard and we were able to capitalize. I was impressed with the great winning spirit and contribution from guys that came off the bench like Triton, David and Tom.” 

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers advance to the second round of the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship and will travel to top-seeded Pittsburgh on Sunday at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.