Both Virginia soccer teams were ousted from their respective NCAA championship tournaments Sunday at Klockner Stadium in penalty kicks under similar circumstances in back-to-back matchups.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER
Washington eliminates No. 1 seed UVA
Washington, down one player for most of the second half and all of the 20 extra minutes, ousted Virginia 5-4 in penalty kicks after their 1-1 draw at Klockner Stadium in the NCAA round of 32.
The Huskies (15-2-7), seeded fourth in their 16-team portion of the draw, ended the top-seeded Cavaliers’ season and advanced to play Duke, a No. 2 seed.
Washington went ahead in the 13th minute on Kalea Eichenberger’s long shot. Addison Halpern tied it for UVA 53 minutes in, assisted by Ella Carter and Laney Rouse.
Especially after the red card on the Huskies, UVA (14-3-5) dominated play. The Cavaliers held a 29-6 shots advantage, and play was stopped 1:47 into overtime for a video review of a Kiki Maki shot that hit the crossbar and bounced down on the goal line but not over it.
On the first penalty kick, Washington goalie Tanner Ijams dove to her right and saved Maggie Cagle’s shot. The Cavaliers made their final four kicks, but five Huskies got the ball past UVA’s Victoria Safradin to advance, capped by Lucy Newlin’s left-footed drive.
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
UNCG fells No. 2 Cavaliers
After the Cavaliers’ women fell, the UNC Greensboro men knocked off Virginia, the No. 2 overall seed, 4-3 in penalty kicks in the NCAA second round after a 2-2 standoff.
Virginia (12-2-5), which outshot the Spartans 27-11, twice came from behind to pull even. Issah Haruna scored in the fifth minute off Daniel Longo’s long pass for the Spartans (12-4-6), but AJ Smith tied the score by rebounding a Marcos Dos Santos shot that hit a post in the 16th minute.
UNCG moved ahead 2-1 in the 40th minute on Pablo Torre’s goal just inside the 18-yard box. The second half was scoreless until UVA’s Luke Burns was fouled in the box, setting up freshman Nick Simmonds’ penalty kick in the 80th minute.
In the shootout, Simmonds missed in the first round, but a Casper Mols save helped UVA pull even at 3 after four rounds. After Kimito Fritz scored for UNCG in the fifth round, the Cavaliers’ final kick was too high and didn’t require a save by Seth Wilson.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
UVA, JMU rise in polls
Virginia (9-2) climbed two spots to No. 17 and James Madison moved up a position to No. 20 in the Associated Press poll. In the coaches’ poll, UVA rose two spots to 17th and JMU moved up one spot to 21st.
The Dukes (10-1, 7-0), on a nine-game winning streak, have clinched the host role for the Dec. 5 Sun Belt championship game, set for 7 p.m. on ESPN. They will face the victor of Saturday’s game pitting Troy (7-4, 5-2) at Southern Mississippi (7-4, 5-2), which has lost two consecutive contests.
Wilder’s Tennessee Tech seeded 13th in FCS playoffs
Former Old Dominion coach Bobby Wilder’s Tennessee Tech team received the No. 13 seed, well below its ranking in the polls, for the FCS playoffs.
The Golden Eagles (11-1) will play host to North Dakota (7-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday. That game’s winner will go to Texas to take on No. 4 Tarleton State (11-1) the following Saturday.
Three Coastal Athletic Association teams made the playoffs: No. 12 Villanova (9-2), which will play host to Harvard (9-1) in the first year the Ivy League has participated in the playoffs; No. 9 Rhode Island (10-2), the CAA champ, which will be at home against Central Connecticut State (8-4); and New Hampshire (8-4), which will visit No. 14 South Dakota State (8-4), a traditional power that was on a four-game slide until winning Saturday.
Defending champion North Dakota State (12-0) was seeded first and Montana State (10-2) second.
COLLEGE TENNIS
UVA men’s tandem takes NCAA championship
Virginia senior Mäns Dahlberg and junior Dylan Dietrich won the NCAA men’s doubles championship at the USTA National Campus near Orlando, Florida.
Despite not being among the eight seeded duos, they went 5-0 in the event, including two victories over pairs from Ohio State. They capped it Sunday with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over the Buckeyes’ Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico.
The Division I team tennis season begins in January.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
VCU, JMU fall in conference finals
Loyola Chicago edged VCU for the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship at Siegel Center, winning 3-2 (27-25, 25-27, 25-27, 25-21, 15-12) to earn an NCAA automatic bid.
The Ramblers (17-15) were led by Ann Marie Remmes, who had 17 kills and hit .593 in the final. She was named the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player. Nina Boledovicova led VCU (16-13) with six blocks.
James Madison fell 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 20-25, 21-25) to Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference final at the Foley Sports Tourism Center in Alabama.
JMU ended its season with a 22-9 record, while Arkansas State improved to 22-8 and gained an NCAA automatic bid. The Red Wolves, like Loyola Chicago and many other teams, will learn their tournament assignment next Sunday on ESPN at 6 p.m.
