NCAA Men's Soccer Quarterfinal
Virginia vs. Notre Dame
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Who's Blogging  |
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Klockner Stadium, Charlottesville
Tickets: $8, $4
Records: Cavaliers 16-3-1, Fighting Irish 15-5-2
At Stake: Semifinal berth next Friday in St. Louis against Duke or UCLA
How They Got Here: No. 4 Cavaliers defeated Bucknell, 4-0, and No. 13 California, 2-1. No. 12 Fighting Irish defeated Illinois-Chicago, 1-0, and No. 5 Maryland, 1-0, in overtime.
Outlook: The Cavaliers have not been to the final four since 1997, but it's not like they haven't been in position to get there. From 1998 through 2004, their season ended with a tournament loss at home, including four times in the quarterfinals. Last year, they lost at North Carolina in the third round. This season could very well be different as Virginia offers a mature attacking front, clever flank players, stable central midfielders, rising star Bakary Soumare on the back line and senior GK Ryan Burke, the program's all-time leader in shutouts. Sophomore F Yannick Reyering scored both goals against Cal in the second half and leads the team with 11 goals and eight assists. The Cavaliers are 14-1 and have yielded only eight goals at home this season, the only loss coming to No. 2 Wake Forest in the regular season finale.
The Fighting Irish, 11-2-1 in their past 14 games, upset defending champion Maryland in College Park last weekend to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in the program's 30-year history. Junior F Joseph Lapira, who provided the game-winning goal in both tournament games, leads the nation in goals (22) and points (49). Sophomore GK Andrew Quinn (DeMatha) might end up starting today after replacing the injured Chris Cahill in the first half of the Maryland game. The only other meetings with Virginia were in 1985 and '89, both 3-0 victories for the Cavaliers.
Other Games: No. 10 Santa Clara at No. 2 Wake Forest, today at 7 p.m.; Northwestern at UC Santa Barbara, tomorrow at 10 p.m.; No. 8 UCLA at No. 1 Duke, Sunday at 1.
-- Steven Goff
