Men’s Soccer: Virginia upsets Pitt, 2-0, to advance to ACC semifinals

Virginia scored twice in a 27-second span in the second half to break a scoreless tie, and the ninth-seeded ‘Hoos upset #1 seed Pitt, 2-0, on Sunday, to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals.

The Panthers (12-5-0) controlled the majority of possession in the game’s opening 45 minutes, with a 3-0 advantage in shots and took four corner kicks compared to Virginia’s one.

The Cavaliers (10-5-3) held their shape and did not concede a dangerous chance to the opposition as the teams entered the halftime break with the score knotted at 0-0.

In the 68th minute of play, Paul Wiese played a corner short to Danny Mangarov, who whipped a ball in to the six-yard box, where Umberto Pelà was there to head it home for 1-0.

The goal marked Pelà’s first of his collegiate career.

Just 27 seconds after the restart, Virginia’s AJ Smith collected a misplayed ball by the Pitt center back instantly igniting a transition chance. With only the goalkeeper to beat, Smith calmly slotted his attempt into the bottom corner of the goal to double the Virginia lead.

With a two-goal advantage, the Cavaliers put forward an impressive defensive display in an effort to preserve a clean sheet against one of the nation’s top teams.

In the 80th minute, the Panthers landed the ball in the Virginia net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Virginia would go on to secure the clean sheet and advance to the ACC semifinal round.

“We had a plan coming into this game, and part of that was to start well, remain tactically disciplined and take them out of their mojo,” UVA coach George Gelnovatch said. “In the second half, that remained the same, but there was an emphasis on making better decisions with our chances and in one of those instances, we accomplished that scoring two great goals in the second half. Our team executed really well today, and in the end, put in a really impressive defensive display to close out the win against one of the best teams in the country.”

The Cavaliers advance to the semifinal round of the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship and will travel to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. on Thursday.

Virginia will take on Wake Forest (10-4-5) at 5:30 p.m. on ACC Network.