No. 5 Virginia Plays to 1-1 Draw at Virginia Tech

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Graduate student Joan Gibert Fuertes (Barcelona, Spain) was credited with the equalizing goal in the 77^th minute to help No. 5 Virginia (1-0-1, 1-0-1 ACC) play to a 1-1 draw at Virginia Tech (0-1-1, 0-1-1 ACC) on Wednesday night (Oct. 14) at Thompson Field. The Cavaliers extended their unbeaten streak against the Hokies to 16 games (10-0-6).

The goal for Fuertes was the first of his career and helped Virginia respond to the go-ahead goal by Virginia Tech’s Kahlil Dover just one minute and 26 seconds earlier. Gibert had his set piece shot attempt on the far side of the 18 deflect off a Hokie defender and bounce over the goalkeeper’s head to level the match at one.

“We’re going to continue to get our legs, rhythm, fitness and sharpness under us here in the early going,” head coach George Gelnovatch said. “I told the team afterwards, let’s keep picking up points along the way and get better any way we can. Given the circumstances where we’re going to go and play three games in nine days, picking up a point on the road is a good thing. That was a hard-fought match on both sides and this is always a tough place to play.”

Despite being out-shot by the Hokies 23-12, Virginia was not without quality chances. In the 60^th minute, sophomore Axel Gunnarsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) made a nifty turn in the box and his touch bounced off a Virginia Tech defender’s hand, earning the Cavaliers’ their second PK of the season. Senior Irakoze Donasiyano (Roanoke, Va.) had his first career PK attempt stopped by Hokie netminder Matt Zambetti.

Donasiyano nearly redeemed himself with a low-driving shot in the 87^th minute that went just wide of the left goalpost. In the final minute of regulation, a second yellow card was issued to Virginia Tech’s Jacob Labovitz that would put Virginia a man-up for both extra sessions.

After having an overtime header get called back on Friday against Louisville, sophomore Andreas Ueland (Bryne, Norway) nearly ended it in the 105^th minute with a redirection that fell into the stretched hands of Zambetti.

With Virginia Tech’s 23 shots, only five landed on target compared to the four shots on goal by Virginia’s attack.

Goalkeeper Colin Shulter (Middleburg, Va.), the ACC’s co-Defensive Player of the Week, made four stops and now has 12 saves through four games this season.

The Cavaliers will return home on Sunday to host No. 2 Pitt at Klöckner Stadium. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and the top-5 matchup will air live on ACCNX.

Additional Notes

• Virginia Tech’s last win against Virginia came on Oct. 29, 2005, a 2-1 OT victory in Charlottesville.
• Virginia moved to 6-1-3 all time at Thompson Field, a facility that opened in 2003.
• Three of the last five meetings against Virginia Tech have ended in draws.
• Dating back to last season, four of the last five matches for Virginia have required extra time.
• Freshmen Kaya Ignacio (Georgetown, Texas) and Rafael Caipo (Lima, Peru) made their first career starts. For Caipo, it was his first action of the season.