cavaliers Suffer โHeartbreaking 1-0 Loss to SMUโ in ACC Tournament championship
DURHAM, N.C. – Teh Virginia Cavaliers men’s soccer team sawโ its quest for an ACC Tournament title fallโ short Sunday, dropping โฃa 1-0 decision to SMU in the championship final. A late penalty kick proved toโ be the decisive moment inโ a tightly contested match,sending the Mustangs to the tournament crown and leaving the Cavaliers to regroup ahead of the NCAA tournament.
The defeat marks a setback for โVirginia, which had been building momentum throughout the season with a strategy focused on controlling the first half and wearing down opponents. Head coach George Gelnovichโ expressed โคdisappointment with the penalty call, stating, “This was a difficult game for us to lose on a pen like โฃthat,” and acknowledged the impact โof a late injury to โขStephen Hurlock, which limited his team’s substitution options โin the final minutes. Despite the loss, Gelnovich anticipates the experience will serve โas motivation as the team turns its attention to the national stage.
Virginia’s game plan of โขestablishing dominance early and โcapitalizing with goals proved challenging โฃagainst a โresilient SMU side. The cavaliers’โ efforts were further intricate by Hurlock’s injury within โthe final 10 minutes, leaving the team โunable to replace him. Gelnovich noted the difficulty of navigating the postseason without facing adversity, adding, “It’s really hard to go into this postseasonโฆwithout setback. And today is a setback,which I hope,and think will reinvigorate us.”
The 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship bracket will be announced Monday, November 17, with the selection โshow scheduled forโค 1 p.m. and available for streaming on NCAA.com. The first round of competition will โfollow shortly after.
