CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team (8-4-1, 4-1-1 ACC) defeated the reigning national champions No. 18 Clemson (9-3-1, 2-2-1 ACC) on Saturday night (Oct. 15) at Historic Riggs Field thanks to a late game-winning goal from freshman Triton Beauvois.
Goals (Assists)
37’ – Virginia: Kome Ubogu (Leo Afonso)
68’ – Clemson: Mohamed Seye (Alvaro Gomez)
78’ – Virginia: Triton Beauvois (Paul Wiese)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Virginia spent the majority of the first half absorbing pressure from Clemson as the Tigers rallied off 10 shots compared to Virginia’s three in the first half an hour of play.
A pivotal moment occurred for Virginia with just over 30 minutes played. After Clemson won the ball in the midfield area, the break was on for the Tigers. Just as the ball entered the Virginia 18-yard box, senior captain Andreas Ueland snuffed out the chance with a trademarked sliding tackle executed to perfection.
Though the Cavaliers did not dominate the possession game in the first half, Virginia proved deadly on the counter-attack when in the 37th minute Albin Gashi won a ball in the midfield with nothing but space in front of him. Carrying the ball high up the field, Gashi released Leo Afonso down the right wing, Afonso rifled a shot on goal that was pushed aside by the Clemson goalkeeper, but a lurking Kome Ubogu tapped the rebound home to open the scoring.
The second half looked like a different game entirely as Virginia grabbed a firm hold on the possession battle early. As Clemson looked to push forward and equalize, the game opened up and took on a frenetic pace with each team making runs deep into its attacking third.
The Cavaliers had an excellent chance to double its lead as Leo Afonso did well to get past his defender with a cut inside the penalty area from the left wing. With a powerful right-footed strike, Afonso crashed a shot hard off the crossbar to be cleared out by Clemson.
Clemson was able to find an equalizing goal in the 68th minute of play when the Tigers were awarded a free kick deep in Virginia’s defensive end. Clemson’s Mohamed Seye rose up to meet a high-arching ball in and head it past Holden Brown to level the score
The Cavaliers were not prepared to settle for a draw. Just before the 80-minute mark Paul Wiese collected a ball in midfield along the right touchline. After a quick cut inside, Wiese switched the field with a curling ball over the top to release freshman Triton Beauvois as the ball fell…