Ninth-ranked Virginia led into the 84th minute, but #22 Syracuse got the equalizer late, then went on to win in PKs on Sunday to advance in the 2023 ACC Tournament.
It was nil-nil at the half. Six minutes into the second half, UVA (10-3-4, 5-2-1 ACC) got on the board when Leo Afonso squared a pass inside the penalty area to Will Citron, and the ball bounced back to Afonso, where he was able to finish his chance at the far post and give Virginia a 1-0 advantage.
With a one-goal lead, the Cavaliers settled in to defend for a large stretch of the second half. Virginia kept its shape well while Joey Batrouni made his presence felt in goal coming up with eight second-half saves.
Syracuse (8-3-7, 2-1-5 ACC), however, found its equalizing goal in the 84th minute as Mateo Leveque found the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.
The teams played two overtime periods in which the Cavaliers created a pair of chances while Batrouni added two more saves to his tally, sending the game into a penalty shootout to decide which team would advance to the semifinal round.
In penalties, Batrouni was once again there for Virginia to deny the first attempt Syracuse attempt. However, the Orange would go on to advance by a margin of 4-3.
“We were up a goal today, and we have been pretty good at closing out games down the stretch. In terms of them tying it, that got away from us,” UVA coach George Gelnovatch said.
“All you can ask from your goalkeeper in a penalty shootout is to make one save and we have to execute our penalties. We didn’t today, and that’s disappointing,” Gelnovatch said. “Syracuse is a very good team. They started stringing some passes together, and we started countering against them. I think the crowd saw an entertaining game, and we just came up on the short end of it.”
The Cavaliers now await their NCAA postseason fate. The 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship bracket will be announced on Nov. 13.
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Chris Graham
