No. 17 Virginia ties Wake Forest in Championship, Falls in PKs
Nov. 12, 2017
Nov. 12, 2017
2017 ACC Tournament Bracket | ACC Championship Page
CHARLESTON, S.C. – In its 19th ACC Championship Final appearance, sixth-seeded Virginia (12-3-5) tied No. 1 Wake Forest (17-1-2), 0-0 but fell, 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout at MUSC Health Stadium. The Cavaliers will await Monday’s selection show to determine their fate in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (Todd, N.C.) made three saves in game action to record his sixth shutout of the season. For the second time in the tournament, Caldwell made two stops in the penalty kick shootout but the Cavaliers failed on two of its last three penalty kick attempts.
Caldwell, Pablo Aguilar (Guatemala City, Guatemala) and Jean-Christophe Koffi (Potomac, Md.) were named to the All-Tournament team.
“This drive to the championship game, I’m very proud of,” said head coach George Gelnovatch. “We have a lot of things going for us at this point in the season and it’s put us into a position to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. I’m proud of how hard these guys worked to get to this point.”
Wake Forest’s Logan Gdula was shown his second yellow card of the game in the 43rd minute forcing the Demon Deacons to play a man down for the final 67 minutes of the game. The nation’s top offense managed to finish the contest with a 14-6 advantage in shots, including a 7-1 edge in the second half
Virginia, no stranger to extra time games this season, generated only one shot on goal in the final 20 minutes. The overtime contest was the Cavaliers’ 10th of the season, tying a school record set during the 2009 National Championship season. The Cavaliers move to 4-1-5 in overtime this season.
Against Wake Forest, the Cavaliers remain unbeaten 13-0-5 in ACC Tournament games. Today’s match marked the fourth-straight time the two programs needed extra time in an ACC postseason contest. Among the five draws, it marked the second time the Demon Deacons have advanced in PKs against Virginia.
Up Next: The NCAA selection show is on Monday (Nov. 13) at 1 p.m. and can be viewed live on NCAA.com. The NCAA First Round and Second Round will take place Thursday (Nov. 16) and Sunday (Nov. 19) respectively at sites to be determined.