College Cup Bound: No. 4 seed Cavaliers Knock Off Notre Dame, 3-2, in NCAA Quarterfinals
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Nov. 24, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – – Senior forward Adam Cristman scored a pair of goals off two assists from Nico Colaluca and Yannick Reyering scored his 12th goal of the season as No. 4 seed Virginia defeated No. 12 seed Notre Dame, 3-2, Friday night to advance to the NCAA College Cup in St. Louis next weekend. Virginia set the NCAA single-season record for total attendance as 5,850 fans watched the Cavaliers knock off the Fighting Irish giving UVa a single-season record of 43,183.
Virginia advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 1997. The Cavaliers were the first team to punch their ticket to St. Louis. It is the second under Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch that Virginia will make a trip to the national semifinals. Cristman set his career-high for goals in a season with his ninth and 10th goals. He now has 34 career goals. Notre Dame out-shot Virginia, 13-11, and held a 5-3 advantage on corner kicks.
Virginia struck first in the 25th minute when Cristman ran down a nice through ball from Colaluca. He scored from 10 yards out to put the Cavaliers ahead, 1-0. Reyering gave the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead in the 35th minute. A Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Cahill made a save on a header from Ian Holder. Colaluca had a shot saved off the line. Reyering collected the rebound and slid home his third goal of the postseason for the Cavaliers.
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Adam Cristman scores his first goal of the game against Notre Dame. |
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Notre Dame cut the lead to 2-1 n the 71st minute when Kurt Martin knocked in his second goal of the season off Joseph Lapira’s free kick right outside the 18. It was Lapira’s 50th point of the season.
But Virginia answered right back 20 seconds later, Colaluca ran down a long pass down the right side and sent a cross into the box. He hit a streaking Cristman to put the Cavalies ahead, 3-1, in the 71st minute.
Notre Dame pulled within, 3-2, in the 84th minute when the Fighting Irish were awarded a penalty kick. Martin scored his second goal of the game with six minutes to go. The Virginia defense then held on for the final six minutes to seal the win.
Virginia goalkeeper Ryan Burke played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded three saves in picking up his 15th win of the season. Cahill played 45 minutes in goal and had two saves before giving way to Andrew Quinn who played the entire second half. Quinn had three saves in the game.
Virginia will now face the winner of the game between Duke and UCLA in the national semifinals next Friday night. The Blue Devils and Bruins play at 1 p.m. on Sunday.