CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Will Bates (Sr.,
Chester, Va.) scored in the 58th minute and the Virginia men’s soccer
team was stout on defense in picking up a 1-0 win over Duke Friday night
at Klöckner Stadium. The match was the ACC
opener for both squads and was played in front of 4,230 spectators,
marking UVa’s largest home crowd since Dec. 4, 2009 (4,900 vs. Maryland
in NCAA quarterfinals).
“It’s great to get three points in
conference play,” Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. “It’s a
huge win in conference play, especially at home, and we did not give up a
goal or really a good chance.”
After a defensive struggle in the first half
with the teams combining for no shots on goal, Virginia (2-2, 1-0 ACC)
struck paydirt in the 57th minute. After Chris Somerville (So., West
Chester, Pa.) ran down a long ball on the
left flank over the Duke defense, he served it across the box. Marcus
Salandy-Defour (Fr., Kensington, Md.) tracked the ball down near the
goal line and tapped it back to Bates, who sent the ball into the far
corner of the goal from six yards out for the score.
The goal was Bates’ 35th career score. He
now is two goals shy of the top 10 in Virginia history. The assist
marked Salandy-Defour’s first career point.
UVa finished with an 11-6 shots advantage;
both teams put two shots on goal. UVa held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks
and also committed 11 fouls, compared to nine for Duke (1-3, 0-1).
Virginia goalkeeper Spencer LaCivita (So.,
Raleigh, N.C.) was not tested much, but he made a pair of saves. Duke
keeper James Belshaw made one save.
Virginia continues its six-match homestand at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it plays host to Mount St. Mary’s.
