#3 Virginia Men's Soccer Defeats American In Maryland/Fila Classic, 4-2

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Sept. 7, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Virginia men’s soccer team began play in the 2001 Maryland/Fila Classic with a 4-2 opening round victory against the American Eagles at Ludwig Field on the campus of the University of Maryland. UVa broke open a 2-2 tie and rolled to a two-goal victory in the first contest of the tournament.

The Cavaliers took an early 1-0 lead when Alecko Eskandarian headed in a cross off of a free kick from Kyle Martino at 22:21. Virginia extended its lead to 2-0 just 1:35 later at 23:56 when Martino sent a cross in front of the American goal that was kicked in by the Eagles’ Jonathan Colton for an own goal. American cut UVa’s lead in half when Kris Bertsch scored on a penalty kick at 35:08 to make it a 2-1 contest. The Cavaliers took their 2-1 lead into halftime.

The Eagles tied the game just 44 seconds into the second half when Melvin Espinal gathered a cross from Bertsch and beat Virginia goalkeeper David Comfort at 45:44 to knot the score at 2-2. However, the Cavaliers pulled ahead for good and took a 3-2 lead when Eskandarian scored his second goal of the game (fourth of the season) on a cross set up by teammates Marshall Leonard and Martino at 68:25. Eskandarian’s score was the eventual game-winning goal. The Cavaliers added an insurance goal to pull ahead 4-2 when Martino converted a penalty kick at 70:58.

UVa’s Comfort gathered two saves in the victory, while AU’s Andrew Herman tallied five saves between the pipes for the Eagles.

With the victory, Virginia’s record improves to 2-0-1 overall, while the loss drops American’s record to 2-1-0 on the year. UVa is now 9-3-0 all-time against AU, with the Cavaliers having won the last three meetings between the two schools.

Virginia will return to action in the Maryland/Fila Classic on Sunday, September 9th when UVa faces the Creighton Bluejays. The game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. and will be played at Ludwig Field.

Score				1	2	FAmerican	(2-1-0)		1	1	2Virginia	(2-0-1)		2	2	4

Goals: UVa 4 – Eskandarian @ 22:29 (Martino), AU own goal @ 23:57, Eskandarian @ 68:25 (Martino, Leonard), Martino @ 70:58 (penalty kick). AU 2 – Bertsch @ 35:08 (penalty kick), Espinal @ 45:44 (Bertsch).Shots: UVa 10, AU 8.Corner Kicks: UVa 4, AU 1.Saves: AU 5, UVa 2.Fouls: AU 23, UVa 20.Cautions: AU 2 – Kinney, Brennan. UVa 1 – Martino.Attendance: N/A

— UVA —