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Oct. 15, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The #25 ranked University of Virginia men’s soccer team recorded a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the visiting West Virginia Mountaineers in a non-conference match in front of 826 spectators at UVa’s Kl?ckner Stadium. The Cavaliers rallied from a late 1-0 deficit with just over 11 minutes to go and scored two goals in the final 11 minutes of play to record their seventh win of the season. Virginia’s Jeff Tuman (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) broke open a 1-1 tie game with just 4:45 remaining in the match when he headed in the game-winning goal.
After playing through 78 scoreless minutes of action, West Virginia posted the first goal of the match at the 78:56 mark when Rusty Girton scored a goal on a free kick taken just outside of the box from straight on. Girton’s goal gave the Mountaineers a very short-lived 1-0 lead. Just :23 second later, UVa’s Adam Cristman (Glen Allen, Va./Godwin) knotted the match at 1-1 when he gathered a loose ball in the box and fired a one-timer that found the back of the net at 79:19. Cristman’s goal was his team-high fifth of the season.
The game remained a 1-1 tie for nearly six minutes until Virginia’s Tuman netted the game-winning goal. The Cavaliers’ Zane Hill (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) got the play started when he chipped a ball into the box to teammate Mike Littlefield (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park). Littlefield then directed the ball to Tuman, who headed the cross into goal for the match’s final score at the 85:15 mark. The goal was Tuman’s second of the season and of his career, and was his first ever collegiate ame-winning goal.
UVa goalkeeper Ryan Burke (Cumberland Foreside, Maine/Greely) made three saves between the pipes to preserve the Cavaliers’ victory, while WVU’s Nick Noble pulled in four saves in a losing effort.
With the victory, Virginia’s record improves to 7-5-0 overall. The loss drops West Virginia’s record to 4-7-2. UVa is now 4-1-0 all-time against WVU in men’s soccer.
The Cavaliers will return to action on Friday, October 17th when Virginia travels to Durham, N.C. to face the Duke Blue Devils in an Atlantic Coast Conference match. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM.
Scoring 1 2 FWest Virginia (4-7-2) 0 1 1Virginia (7-5-0) 0 2 2
Goals: Virginia 2 - Adam Cristman @ 79:19 (unassisted), Jeff Tuman @ 85:15 (Zane Hill, Mike Littlefield).West Virginia 1 - Rusty Girton @ 78:56 (unassisted).Shots: Virginia 15, West Virginia 9.Corner Kicks: Virginia 8, West Virginia 2.Saves: West Virginia 4, Virginia 3.Fouls: Virginia 15, West Virginia 10.Offside: Virginia 5, West Virginia 0.Cautions: Virginia 1 - Ian Holder. West Virginia 1 - Jarrod Smith.Attendance: 826.
— UVa —