Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
Late Xavier Goal Stuns Virginia Men's Soccer in Season Opener
In every category except one, Virginia beat Xavier on Thursday night.
The Cavaliers held a dominant edge in shots, shots on goal, corners, and fouls. While UVA attempted 19 shots, Xavier attempted only three, the last two of which doomed the Wahoos in their season opener.
With less than five minutes to play, a header from Xavier's Kendall Allen off a cross was blocked from crossing the goal line thanks to an incredible diving effort by UVA goalkeeper Holden Brown. Unfortunately for Brown for the Cavaliers, the ball went right to the foot of Xavier's Brandon Osterholt, who hammered it into the back of the net to put the Musketeers in front.
After thoroughly outplaying the Musketeers for the entire game, the late goal spoiled the season opener for Virginia in a 1-0 loss to Xavier on Thursday night at Klockner Stadium.
While Osterholt will be rightfully praised as scoring the game-winner, the MVP of the game was certainly Xavier goalkeeper Cole Jensen, who finished the match with eight saves, five of which came in the second half as Virginia turned up the pressure.
UVA dominated possession for essentially the entire match as shots were 8-0 in favor of the Cavaliers in the first half and 19-3 for the match. Virginia blitzed Jensen and the Xavier defense from start to finish, but the Hoos just couldn't break through and find the back of the net. Leo Afonso paced the Cavaliers with four shots, while Kome Ubogu and David Okorie both placed two shots on goal, but all were stopped by Cole Jensen.
For the first 82 minutes of the match, Xavier did not attempt even a single shot. As it turns out, the Musketeers were biding their time, waiting for the Cavaliers to give them an opportunity to pounce.
That chance came with just under five minutes remaining. Xavier got its first corner opportunity of the match from the left corner, which resulted in another corner from the opposite side. Kendall Allen found the cross and got a solid head on the ball direct it towards the goal. Facing his first shot on goal of the match, Holden Brown dove and made the save, but the ball bounced right to Brandon Osterholt, who cleanly swept it into the goal to draw first blood with just a few minutes left in the match.
Suddenly trailing on their home field, the Cavaliers switched into desperation mode to try to find a quick equalizer to salvage the draw. UVA had a couple of decent chances in the final moments, including a Leo Afonso shot as time expired that was deflected away on its way in and Virginia suffered a painful defeat in the season opener.
UVA will look to bounce back and pick up the first win of the season against Rider on Monday at 7pm at Klockner Stadium.
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