Not all hope was lost on the football field this past Saturday. In Klockner, the seventh-ranked Virginia men's soccer team blanked No. 18 NC State, 1-0, while honoring its seniors in their last regulation home game of the season. In doing so, Virginia (12-3-1, 4-3-1 ACC) extended its unbeaten streak to 8 games (the longest streak in the ACC), shutting out its fifth consecutive opponent.
And on senior night, it was only fitting that it was fourth-year Neil Barrow who assisted fellow fourth-year Ross LaBauex to score his first goal of the season in the 21st minute. This goal came off a restart, as the Wolfpack were called for a foul at the top of th penalty box. Barrow connected with LaBauex, who blasted it from 25 yards out. As fate would have it, this would be the game-winning goal.
"I really thought it was a game of two very different halves," Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. "In the first half, we created great chances and moved the ball unbelievably well. The second half was more of a stalemate and we grinded it out against a very good NC State team."
Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo recorded three saves to record his ninth shutout of the season. He has only allowed seven goals this entire season.
Pairings for the ACC Tournament, held Nov. 10-15 in Cary, NC, will be announced tomorrow, November 9.
Virginia, despite finishing fifth in the ACC standings, is ranked seventh nationally. That's a real testament to the strength of the conference, as there are six (out of nine) teams in the top 25.