No. 10 Virginia Upended by Radford at Home
Oct. 17, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A second half Radford (8-4-2) goal proved to the difference in a 1-0 victory over No. 10 Virginia (9-2-3) at Klöckner Stadium. The loss for the Cavaliers snapped a five-game unbeaten streak.
Junior forward Sivert Daehlie scored his 11th goal of the season in the 61st minute for the eventual game-winning tally. The shot on goal was one of three on the game for the Highlanders who earned their first victory over Virginia in 13 tries. Coming into the contest, Radford had been 0-11-1 against the Cavaliers in a series that dates back to 1982.
“At this time of year, getting a bit of a wakeup call could be a good thing,” said head coach George Gelnovatch. “As I told the team today, a worse feeling than this is a loss that ends your season, so we’ll regroup, take a look at the film and get ready for Friday.”
Virginia managed to out-shoot Radford in a physical contest, 12-7. A total of six of the Cavalier shots landed on target including five in the final 45 minutes of play. All three of the game’s yellow cards were issued to the Highlanders, who committed 18 fouls in the contest compared to just four by Virginia.
“They’re a tough team to play against, I give them credit for the pressure that they put on us,” added Gelnovatch. “They were able to sustain it throughout the game and for them to get that goal in the second half was really important.”
Virginia came into the contest unblemished in non-conference play at 7-0 and suffer their first non-conference loss since Oct. 13, 2015, a span of 15 games.
Senior Jeff Caldwell (Todd, N.C.) made two saves in his 54th career start in goal for the Cavaliers, the third most in school history. Caldwell’s counterpart, Nicolas Mertzokat turned away six shots and earned his eighth win of the season.
The Virginia offense has now been held scoreless in back-to-back games for the first time since late 2015. The Cavaliers played to a 0-0 draw against NC State on Friday night (Oct. 13).
Up Next: The Cavaliers will host Pittsburgh their final regular season home game of the season on Friday (Oct. 20) at 7 p.m. The men’s soccer program will honor its seniors prior to the contest and welcome back the 1992 National Championship team for a special halftime ceremony.