Cavaliers Drop ACC Semifinal to Wake Forest

CARY, N.C. — Through a consistent downpour of rain, ninth-seeded Virginia (10-6-3) fell to fifth-seeded Wake Forest (10-4-6) by a score of 5-1 on Thursday night (Nov. 14) in the ACC Semifinal at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Goals (Assist)
18’ Wake Forest — Kennedy (Borso)
24’ Wake Forest — Umar (Kennedy)
29’ Wake Forest — Flax (PK)
52’ Wake Forest — Torbic
55’ Virginia — Beauvois (Wiese)
75’ Wake Forest — Flax (PK)

How it Happened:

• Virginia created the first dangerous chance of the game when Danny Mangarov lifted a cross from the center of the field into Parker Sloan on the left side of the penalty area. Sloan’s header glanced just wide of the right post as the game remained scoreless with just 10 minutes played.
• The Cavaliers dealt with a wave of pressure from Wake Forest conceding a corner kick in the 18^th The initial delivery from Cooper Flax was broken up by Paul Wiese but lifted back into a dangerous are by Dylan Borso. Julian Kennedy headed his attempt home and Virginia trailed 1-0 with just under 20 minutes played.
• Six minutes later, the lead was doubled. Wake Forest’s Colin Thomas was played in behind the Virginia defense as Tom Miles made an impressive save on the initial shot attempt. Kennedy collected the loose ball and laid it off to Umar who finished the chance leaving Virginia down a pair.
• In the 29^th minute, Wake Forest was awarded a penalty kick for a deflected ball off the hand of Austin Rome. Cooper Flax converted from the spot to increase the Demon Deacons lead to 3-0.
• Wake Forest added another in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as Joel Torbic nudged an outside cross into the bottom corner to increase the Demon Deacon lead to 4-0.
• Just three minutes later, Virginia pulled a goal back. Driving down the far touchline, Paul Wiese let go of a long cross into the penalty area finding Triton Beauvois who left his feet to score on his right foot to cut into the deficit and make the score 4-1.

• In the 75^th minute, Wake Forest was awarded their second penalty of the game as Flax converted once again to restore the Demon Deacons four-goal advantage at 5-1.

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch:
“You know, 25 minutes into that game, I could see the three road trips taking its toll on our team, no question about it. I could see that on our legs tonight…The approach was to let them have a little bit more of the ball and be like we were in the Pitt game. So, we changed tactics in the second half. It was obviously a little bit better and a little bit more aggressive, but the weather didn’t help. And, you know, some things went wrong.”

“We have a whole season left ahead of us now with the NCAA Tournament. So, the message at halftime was like, let’s see. Let’s be aggressive. Let’s take chances. Let’s win our 3-5-2, let’s press higher up the field and get ourselves ready for the next part of our season.” 

Additional Notes:

• Triton Beauvois scored his second goal of the tournament
• Paul Wiese assisted in his fourth-consecutive game increasing his season total to 10
• With 27 career assists, Wiese ranks No. 7 all-time at UVA
• The loss snaps a three-game win streak as the team falls to 8-2 in its last 10 matches
• The match marks the first time Virginia has conceded five goals in an ACC tournament match, and marks its heaviest defeat in ACC tournament play
• The Cavaliers were outshot by a margin of 13-8
• Virginia placed a pair of shots on target compared to Wake Forest’s seven
• Tom Miles made his second consecutive start in goal 

Up Next:
The NCAA Men’s Soccer Selection show is set for Monday (Nov. 18) when the Cavaliers look to earn an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.