No. 14 UVA (8-1-2, 3-1-1 ACC) improved to 3-0 on the road with a 4-1 victory at Clemson (5-6-1, 0-5 ACC) on Friday night (Oct. 12). Virginia scored three second half goals in an 11-minute span to put the game out of reach.
Clemson was able to knot the game up at one, seemingly grabbing the momentum from the home crowd with equalizer just 76 seconds into the second half of play. The Cavaliers needed only 26 seconds to recapture the lead for good when Robin Afamefuna (Wuerselen, Germany) tucked a free kick into the upper right corner of the goal, making the score 2-1.
Virginia added two more goals, the first of the collegiate career of Daniel Steedman (Cornelius, N.C.) in the 51st minute and Daryl Dike (Edmond, Okla.) scored his third goal of the week to make the score 4-1 in the 60th minute.
“Clemson challenged us much like Syracuse did earlier in the season with their tough, physical game,” head coach George Gelnovatch said. “The difference between that game (Syracuse) and tonight, we were able to withstand the physicality and we’re further along in the development of our offensive capabilities.”
The physicality of the game was reflected in 44 combined fouls called in the contest, 27 of them going against the Tigers. A total of six cautions were issued, four to Clemson.
“This team (Virginia) has the ability to be successful in a number of ways, whether it be physical, direct or the ability to control possession,” added Gelnovatch.
Freshman Cabrel Happi Kamseu (Harare, Zimbabwe) gave the Cavaliers the initial 1-0 advantage with his team-leading, fifth goal of the season in the 39th minute. Sophomore Nathaniel Crofts (Sheffield, England) was credited with the first of his two assists on the night setting up the Happi Kamseu right-footed shot to the lower right corner of the net. Crofts later setup Steedman’s tally in the 51st minute and now has four assists in his last two games.
Despite allowing just its fifth goal of the season, it proved to be the only shot on target surrendered by the Virginia defense. Seven of the eight total shots for the Tigers came in the final 45 minutes. It marked the fourth time this season Virginia had limited an opponent to one shot on goal
The Cavaliers will return home and begin a three-game home stand on Tuesday night (Oct. 16) when they host Radford at Klöckner Stadium. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will air live on ACC Network Extra.
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Chris Graham
