Two goals by Daryl Dike, and two huge plays in the box in the final two minutes by keeper Colin Shutler, sent #1 seed Virginia past #4 seed Wake Forest, 2-1, in the College Cup semifinals Friday night.
The victory puts UVA (21-1-1) in the national-championship game on Sunday against #3 seed Georgetown (19-1-3), which defeated #7 seed Stanford 2-0 earlier in the evening.
The goals by Dike, at the 18:57 and 22:22 mark of the first half, put the ‘Hoos in seemingly commanding position.
Wake finally made things interesting late, on a penalty kick by Bruno Lapa, after a tough foul assessed on UVA’s Andreas Ueland at the 78:52 mark.
The big plays late from Shutler, a save on a shot by Machop Chol with 1:51 to go, and a breakup on a cross 40 seconds later, preserved the win for the Cavaliers, who are gunning for the program’s eighth national championship.
That game will be played on Sunday at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPNU.