Olivia Taylor/Virginia Athletics
Virginia Men's Soccer Cruises to 5-0 Win Over La Salle
The Cavaliers had no trouble carrying the momentum of Friday night's electrifying victory over Virginia Tech into their next match. A dominating effort from start to finish featuring goals from four different scorers produced a comfortable 5-0 victory for the Virginia men's soccer team over La Salle on Tuesday night at Klockner Stadium.
It was clear from the beginning that the Cavaliers were going to have a substantial advantage in possession and scoring chances due to their superior passing and ball control in the midfield. Virginia earned its first corner kick opportunity less than two minutes into the match, the first of seven corners the Hoos would have in the opening period as compared to zero for the Explorers.
It took less than 12 minutes for UVA to get on the board first. Chasing a pass that was headed for the end line, Leo Afonso fought hard to get a leg around his defender to keep the ball in bounds. He was then tackled by La Salle's Talla Faye in the box and awarded a penalty kick. La Salle goalkeeper Valentin Kneis guessed in the right direction, but Afonso's kick was extremely well-struck and well-placed, beating Kneis to the top right corner for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Although La Salle had only two shots in the first half as compared to 14 for Virginia, the Explorers did test the UVA defense a few times with threatening scoring opportunities. The Cavaliers took advantage every time the Explorers extended themselves, however, countering with scoring chances of their own.
JMU transfer Axel Ahlander recorded his first goal in a Virginia uniform with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Afonso chased a long pass into the right corner and saved it before passing to Ahlander, who used a brilliant move to turn and free himself for a shot. It was a severe angle, but Ahlander buried it inside the far post to double UVA's lead.
Not satisfied with their 2-0 halftime advantage, the Cavaliers remained aggressive through the second half. In the 54th minute, another transfer scored his first goal in the orange and blue as Western Michigan transfer Aidan O'Connor joined the scoring party. UVA's corner kick went long but Axel Ahlander got a head on the ball to keep it in the box. Moritz Kappelsberger got a touch on it, setting the ball perfectly for O'Connor, who blasted it pass Kneis to make it 3-0.
Less than five minutes later, the Cavaliers were celebrating yet another goal. Daniel Mangarov took a free kick from outside the box on the right wing and sent a beautiful cross into the box that found a streaking Kome Ubogu, who headed it in to put Virginia up 4-0.
Even with the match well in hand, UVA continued to apply pressure on the offensive end. In the 75th minute, freshman Triton Beauvois was tackled in the box and placed his penalty kick attempt into the top left corner for his first-career goal.
Another freshman, David Okorie, had a chance to score his first-career goal as he too was tackled in the box to earn a penalty kick, but Kneis made a diving save to deny Okorie.
Kneis, who is also a freshman starting in goal for the Explorers, did well to prevent the match from turning into a bloodbath, saving nine of the 14 shots on goal that he faced. UVA goalkeeper Holden Brown was tested late in the game as La Salle put a few shots on goal to try to spoil the shutout, but Brown made the saves to preserve the third clean sheet of the season for himself and the Virginia defense.
Virginia has now scored nine goals in the last two matches, but more importantly, those nine goals have come from seven different scorers, including five different goal scorers against La Salle on Tuesday.
"This team has more depth than I can remember," said UVA head coach George Gelnovatch after the match "I'm trying to flash back. I think 2008 was the last time I had this kind of depth especially at the attacking positions, forward positions, wide positions."
That level of depth will be key for the Cavaliers as they move further into ACC play. Now 4-2 on the season and winners of two-straight matches, Virginia will look to improve to 2-0 in ACC play when Notre Dame comes to Charlottesville on Friday at 7pm at Klockner Stadium.
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