UVA Crushes Mount St. Mary's, Bates collects Hat Trick

Virginia Men's Soccer Rides Scoring Barrage to 6-1 Win Over Mount St. Mary’s

Bates records fourth career hat trick in UVa’s big victory

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Will Bates (Sr., Chester, Va.) recorded a hat trick and Chris Somerville (So., West Chester, Pa.) added a pair of goals as the Virginia men’s soccer team rolled to a 6-1 victory over Mount St. Mary’s Tuesday evening at Klöckner Stadium. 

 

 

“It was a good run for our starters in preparation for Friday (against Xavier) – not too much, just enough,” UVa head coach George Gelnovatch, “And (it was) good for guys who hadn’t played in a while to get a little bit of a run as well. I thought this game was great for us.”

Bates earned his fourth career hat trick, despite playing just the first half, and now has 38 career goals, which ranks 10th in Virginia history. He moved into the top 10 after passing Ryan Gibbs (1999-2002), who recorded 37 career scores.

Virginia (3-2) controlled possession throughout the first half, and Bates started the scoring at the 13-minute mark, as he took a long Eric Bird (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) serve into the box and headed it to the near corner of the net. It marked UVa’s first first-half goal this season.

Bates used his head again in the 20th minute when he knocked home a Scott Thomsen (Fr., Brick, N.J.) corner kick. 

The Cavaliers continued to pressure the Mountaineers and drew a penalty kick in the 28th minute when Darius Madison (Fr., Philadelphia, Pa.) was fouled and knocked down in the box. Madison calmly finished on the penalty kick for his first career score, giving UVa a 3-0 advantage.

UVa drew another penalty kick in the 37th minute when Ryan Zinkhan (So., Fredericksburg, Va.) was fouled in the box. Mount St. Mary’s goalkeeper Peter Steve deflected the PK, but Bates collected the rebound and zipped it past Steve for a commanding 4-0 Cavalier lead.

The Cavaliers again used a penalty kick to score in the 70th minute, as Chris Somerville (So., West Chester, Pa.) was tackled in the box after an aggressive run down the field. He converted the penalty kick for his first goal of the year.

The Mountaineers (1-4) turned a UVa turnover deep in its own territory into their lone goal of the game in the 81st minute, as Zoncher Dennis collected a deflection and found himself in a one-on-one situation with Miscione and beat him to the far post. 

UVa added one final tally with just over a minute remaining when Somerville broke free on a breakaway. He eluded Steve in the box and then beat the keeper with a short touch-in. The goal gave Somerville his first career multi-goal game.

Virginia goalkeepers Spencer LaCivita (Fr., Raleigh, N.C.) and Matt Miscione (R-So., Ashburn, Va.) each spent a half in goal for the Cavaliers. LaCivita made a save in the first half, while Miscione made four second-half saves in his first career appearance for UVa. Steve made a pair of saves for Mount St. Mary’s.

UVa held a 13-10 shots edge, including 8-2 in the first half.  Both teams recorded four corner kicks. The Mount was whistled for 11 fouls, while UVa was credited with nine.

Virginia steps out of ACC play at 7 p.m. Friday for a tough non-conference battle as it takes on No. 19 Xavier in the first-ever meeting between the programs. The Musketeers are unbeaten at 4-0-1 this year.