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Nov. 26, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia men’s soccer team built an early 2-0 lead behind first-half goals by Steve Totten and Ryan Gibbs, and held on for a 2-1 victory over the St. John’s Red Storm in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship in front of 1,799 spectators at Kl?ckner Stadium.
UVa recorded the first goal of the contest at 9:04 when Totten gathered a cross from Gibbs and sent a shot inside the right post of the Red Storm goal from 20 yards away to make it a 1-0 Cavalier lead. Exactly 15 minutes later, Virginia’s Gibbs scored the eventual game-winning goal at 26:04 when he gathered a loose ball off two shot attempts taken by UVa’s Alecko Eskandarian, and chipped in a shot from four yards away to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 advantage. Virginia would take its 2-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
St. John’s tried to break down UVa’s defense the entire game and matched Virginia in shots on goal with 12 apiece, before finally putting its final shot into the Cavalier goal for its first score of the contest. With just 1:33 left in the match, the Red Storm’s 12th shot found it’s way just inside the UVa goal when Adam Maurer headed a cross from teammate Jeff Matteo off the crossbar, which deflected straight down just inside the white goal line for a St. John’s goal. The score cut Virginia’s lead to 2-1, but the Red Storm was unable to record the equalizer in the final minute and a half of play as the Cavaliers held on for a 2-1 victory.
With the win, Virginia’s record improves to 17-5-1 overall, while the loss drops St. John’s record to 14-5-2 on the year. UVa will now advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals (third round) to face the Creighton Bluejays. Creighton was a 3-0 winner over San Diego in the second round to advance to the quarterfinal match. The loss eliminates the Red Storm from the tournament and ends their 2000 season.
Virginia will return to action on either Saturday, December 2nd or Sunday, December 3rd to host Creighton in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The contest will be played at Kl?ckner Stadium. Game time is yet to be determined. The winner of the match will advance to participate in the College Cup in Charlotte, N.C. against the winner of the North Carolina vs. Indiana contest.
Scoring 1 2 FSt. John's (14-5-2) 0 1 1Virginia (17-5-1) 2 0 2
Goals: UVa 2 – Totten (Gibbs) @ 9:04, Gibbs @ 26:04. SJU 1 – Maurer (Matteo) @ 88:27.
Shots: UVa 12, SJU 12.
Corner Kicks: UVa 2, SJU 2.
Saves: UVa 6, SJU 5.
Fouls: UVa 20, SJU 16.
Cautions: SJU 4 – O’Donnell (Y, R), Matteo, Rojos, O’Donnell, UVa 2 – Kelly, Barnes.
Attendance: 1,799.