In the 10th minute Sunday, Thiam nearly put Virginia in front, but his shot bounced off the crossbar, leading to a goal kick for Indiana (15-4-4).
“It’s a different game if that goes in,” Afonso said.
About a minute later, the Hoosiers seized the advantage, scoring what turned out to be the game’s only goal.
“They caught us on the back side not doing a good job marking, and to their credit they were able to [hold on] in the second half,” Gelnovatch said.
The Hoosiers advance to meet No. 2 seed Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinals. “They’re a good team,” Afonso said. “They took care of business, they put a goal way and stuck to their plan.”
Twice in the second half Virginia nearly tied the game. In the 63rd minute, Indiana defender Jansen Miller cleared freshman forward Stephen Annor’s header off the line. In the 70th minute, Miller rescued the Hoosiers again, this time clearing an Annor shot off the line before the ball could reach the goal.
“That’s really the difference in that game,” Gelnovatch said.
Afonso missed much of the regular season with a sprained ankle, and the Cavaliers were shorthanded again Sunday. Center back Aidan O’Connor and midfielder Umberto Pelá missed the game with injuries.
For long stretches this season “I thought right up the spine we were really good,” Gelnovatch said. “We had Stephen scoring goals, Umberto was kind of our anchor in the midfield and Aidan was our anchor as a center back, and two of those three guys weren’t on the field today. So do I think it made a difference? Yeah, but it’s sport and you gotta deal with it.”
Annor, the ACC Freshman of the Year, led the Cavaliers with 20 points on 10 goals. He and O’Connor are likely to explore professional opportunities, but each could be back for Virginia in 2024, along with such players as goalkeeper Joey Batrouni, wingbacks Paul Wiese and Reese Miller, midfielders Brendan Lambe, Albin Gashi and Pelá, and forward Kome Ubogu.
“I think we have a pretty good foundation moving forward to set us up for next year,” Gelnovatch said.
In 2022, the Cavaliers lost a penalty-kick shootout to Marshall in the NCAA tournament’s second round. Their season lasted a week longer this year, and that should help the Hoos’ returning players in 2024.
“It’s great,” Afonso said. “The younger guys, they got that experience of being here and knowing what it takes. My first two years, we didn’t know, and this was my first…