Virginia got out to an early lead on a 10th-minute goal from Sebastian Pop, but UNCG tied the match early in the second half, and the teams ended up settling for the 1-1 draw in a nonconference matchup of Top 25 teams on Tuesday night at Klöckner Stadium.
I like the scheduling move here by UVA coach George Gelnovatch, challenging his squad with #19 UNCG (8-2-3) in the mid-week.
“This is a game against a very good team, an ACC-quality team,” said Gelnovatch, whose ninth-ranked ‘Hoos (7-1-4) controlled the ball for 56 percent of the match, and had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal.
UVA took the first four shots of the game and earned four successive corner kicks within the first 10 minutes, before finally breaking through on the fourth corner, which was played short to Umberto Pelà on the right wing. Pelà played the ball back to Marco Dos Santos, who picked out Pop just outside the six-yard box for a one-touch finish to put Virginia ahead 1-0.
In the 53rd minute, the Cavaliers created another standout chance to double its lead. Triton Beauvois chased down a long diagonal ball down the left wing. After a quick one-two with Luke Burns, Beauvois’ attempt was dealt with by the UNCG goalkeeper, Seth Wilson, and the lead remained at 1-0.
In the 57th minute, UNCG was awarded a free kick 15 yards outside the penalty area. After a ball was played over the top and pinballed around in the area, Colton Sessoms put a foot on it and found the back of the net to level the score.
With just over eight minutes remaining in the match, UNCG’s Teva Lossec was shown a red card for foul play, putting the Spartans down to 10 men for the remainder of the match.
Shortly after the red card, Virginia’s Jesus De Vicente put a one-time effort on frame, which was cleared off the goal line by a Spartan defender.
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Sunday when they host Denver (7-6-1) at Klöckner Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. on ACCNX.
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Chris Graham
