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Virginia Scores Two in Second Half to Tie No. 10 Pitt, 2-2

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia’s men’s soccer team (5-7-3, 2-4-1 ACC) played No. 10 Pitt (8-4-1, 4-2-1 ACC) to a 2-2 draw on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers trailed 2-0 at the half and scored the game-tying goal with two seconds remaining in regulation.

GOALS

35’ – Pitt: Valentin Noel (Matt Bailey, Bertin Jacquesson)

45’ – Pitt: Valentin Noel

54’ – UVA: Leo Afonso (Penalty kick)

90’ – UVA: Will Citron (Paul Wiese)

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Pitt took two quick shots in the 16th minute that were saved by goalkeeper Holden Brown.
  • Pitt scored in the 35th minute after crossing the ball from the right side and getting a tip to Noel to put it just past Brown.
  • Pitt’s second goal came just before the half.
  • The Cavaliers cut the lead to 2-1 in the 54th minute when Pitt committed a handball in the box on Leo Afonso’s shot. Afonso converted the penalty kick to put UVA on the board.
  • Brown made back-to-back saves again in the 82nd minute to keep UVA’s deficit to one.
  • Pitt’s Mohammad Abualnadi was given his second yellow of the match, giving UVA a man up for the final two minutes of regulation.
  • Virginia pressed the field and earned two corner kicks in the final minute of regulation. Paul Wiese sent the second corner kick into the box and Will Citron connected on the header into the top left corner of the net to send the match to overtime.
  • Both teams had two shots in the first overtime period.
  • Virginia had four shots in the second overtime, including three in the final minute and six seconds. Two were blocked and the last shot was saved by Pitt.

NOTABLES

  • It was the second penalty kick of Afonso’s career.
  • Citron scored the second goal of his career, the first as a Cavalier. His previous goal came when he was at Cornell.
  • Wiese recorded his sixth assist of the season.
  • UVA’s goal at 89:54 was the latest in regulation since 2017, when Jean Christophe-Koffi scored at 89:89.
  • Virginia is 0-3-3 in overtime games this season.
  • UVA is 5-0-1 when scoring two or more goals this season.
  • Brown finished with eight saves, one shy of his career-high.

FROM HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH

“Pitt is a very good team. I’m happy with the response after we went down two goals at halftime. They did a great job of pushing until the very end to get the equalizer at the end of regulation and until the final seconds to try and get the win in overtime. We proved as the game went on that we can play with one of the best teams in the country with such a young group. I’m proud of the group.”

UP NEXT

Virginia hosts Mary Washington on Monday, October 25 at 5 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium in its final regular-season home match.

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