Dec. 11, 2009

Ownby’s Golden Goal Sends Cavaliers into NCAA Final

CARY, N.C. – Brian Ownby’s (Glen Allen, Va.) golden goal in the 93rd minute lifted the No. 2 Virginia men’s soccer team to a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 3 Wake Forest in the first semifinal of the 2009 College Cup at the WakeMed Soccer Park. The victory sent the Cavaliers (18-3-3) into their first national championship final since 1997, as they look for their first national title since 1994.

Early in the game, Wake Forest (17-4-3) had the better of the play and the possession. The Demon Deacons had the game’s first scoring chance in the 12th minute as Andy Lubahn’s shot fired off the crossbar and Zack Schilawski’s rebound header went wide. After the slow start, the Cavaliers had the better of the chances late in the first half as each team had seven shots in a scoreless opening 45 minutes.

Early in the second half, the Cavaliers took advantage of one of their chances and took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. Jonathan Villanueva’s (Grand Prairie, Texas) shot from the top of the penalty area was saved by the goalkeeper, but the rebound came right to Tony Tchani (Norfolk, Va.), who one-timed in his eighth goal of the season from 10 yards out. Wake Forest drew even in the 70th minute as Corben Bone dribbled down the end line and knocked in a shot from a bad angle for the equalizer. The goal snapped the Cavalier goalkeeper Diego Restrepo’s (West Palm Beach, Fla.) school-record shutout streak at 1176:51, having not allowed a goal since the Virginia Tech game on Oct. 17. The teams remained tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation.

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Akron Advances Past Carolina On Penalties

CARY, N.C. - Senior goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty matched a career high with seven saves, and No. 5 seed North Carolina played top-seeded and unbeaten Akron to a scoreless draw, however, the Zips bested the Tar Heels, 5-4, in penalty kicks Friday in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Akron (23-0-1) advances to face No. 2 seed Virginia Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2 in the national title match. Despite playing a man down for the final 40 minutes after defender Brett King picked up his second yellow card, Carolina (16-2-4) snapped the Zips' 23-game winning streak but fellow short of advancing to a second straight NCAA final.

After battling for 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, both teams converted their first two PK chances with All-Americas Michael Farfan and Zach Loyd finding the back of the net for the Tar Heels. After Jordan Graye missed high on UNC's third chance, Akron connected on its final three attempts to advance. Blair Gavin made the decisive penalty after Drew McKinney and Kirk Urso deposited their chances for Carolina.