CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Marco Dos Santos leveled the score just past the hour mark, but an 81st-minute strike saw UCLA defeat No. 11 Virginia by a score of 2-1 on Thursday night (Aug. 20) at Klöckner Stadium.
Goals (Assist)
38’ UCLA – de la Vibora (Amaro)
65’ UVA – Dos Santos (Lambe)
81’ UCLA – Hall
Both teams created opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, but UCLA struck first when David de la Vibora headed in a corner taken by Jaime Amaro in the 38th minute. The Cavaliers were outshot 8-4 in an opening frame that saw Spencer Sanderson make a pair of saves in his UVA debut.
The Cavaliers could sense a goal coming in the early moments of the second half and broke through in the 65th minute off a well-worked piece of build-up play culminating with a goal from Marco Dos Santos set up by Brendan Lambe.
Virginia continued to turn the screws in search of a winner, outshooting the Bruins 10-6 in the final 45 minutes. However, it was Logan Hall’s strike from the top of the penalty area that served as the game-winning goal for UCLA.
Additional Notes:
- Marco Dos Santos notched his second goal as a Cavalier
- Brendan Lambe tallied the second assist of his career
- Third-year goalkeeper, Spencer Sanderson, made his collegiate debut and recorded five saves
- A total of six players made their UVA debuts including: Isaac Mwakatuya (90’), Arnold Matshazi (65’), Spencer Sanderson (90’), Ethan Martinez (45’), Prince Abanfo (45’) and Chase Duke (17’)
- Virginia falls to 3-8-1 in the all-time series with UCLA
- Both teams registered 14 shot attempts
- Virginia placed three shots on target compared to UCLA’s seven
What They Said:
“We played a very good team in our opening game, and it was a good game. I thought the adjustments we made in second half were very good and we scored a great goal. I think we were turning the screws, and I felt like we had that moment in the game, and then some guys started cramping, we had some stoppage of plays, and we just kind of lost our way…It was a very solid performance against a quality opponent.” – Head Coach George Gelnovatch
“Think we were a little bit unlucky. [We are] still getting to know each other as a team. We hadn't conceded first in a preseason game, so I thought our reaction was actually overall positive in the second half. We came out and scored the goal, the team was ticking and we could have scored the second. It’s a negative, but we can take the positives from it and go after the next one.” – Marco Dos Santos
Up Next:
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Monday (Oct. 24) when they host No. 16 High Point at Klöckner Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).