Virginia Cavaliers Capture The College Cup

Entering into Sunday’s match, there was very little that the University of Virginia Cavaliers Men’s Soccer team had not done in the game.

A six-time champion and a multiple time finalist, the Cavaliers had played and beaten all of the best. Except for one: beat UCLA in the tournament. On the day of the 17th anniversary of these two clubs first battle in the College Cup final it would be Virginia that would finally gain the victory over UCLA. The Cavaliers would narrowly beat the Bruins 3-2 in penalties to capture their seventh College Cup title.

Much like they had done all tournament, the Cavaliers relied heavily on their defense to propel them to victory. Virginia coach George Gelnovatch implemented a very conservative style meant to limit space inside the Cavaliers defensive half. The trade-off was that UCLA dominated possession, often holding the ball for minutes at a time.

Bruins midfielder Leo Stolz led the attack, controlling the game flow and make several decisive passes into forward Larry Ndjock. The Ghanaian connected on a header in the 53rd minute, but his shot went wide. Credit should go to Cavaliers defender Scott Thomsen, who marked Ndjock very closely through the entire match.

Dec 14, 2014; Cary, NC, USA; Virginia Cavaliers fans celebrate winning the NCAA College Cup Final against the UCLA Bruins at Wake Med Soccer Park. Virginia won 0-0 (4-2) in penalties. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA Today

Virginia very rarely threatened the Bruins defense,being out-shot 15-3 during the match. Without their leading scorer, midfielder Eric Bird, for large portions of the match (Bird has been nursing a groin injury for the duration of the tournament) the club relied on set pieces for opportunities. A free kick taken by defender Todd Wharton at the end of the first half looked promising, but his shot was saved by Bruins goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.

In the second half, UCLA continued to pour on the pressure looking for the one goal that would give them their fifth College Cup title. The final 15 minutes were particularly difficult for the Virginia defense as Stolz continued to find small acres of space to hit his shot. But the German’s shots were mostly off target or saved by Virginia goalkeeper Calle Brown.

After 30 minutes of overtime which did not resolve the deadlock, the two teams went to penalties. It was during this last session where the Bruins inability to finish their chances once again came up. Bruins defender Gage Zerboni hit his shot off of the cross-bar on the second round of shots.