By Jordan Shim–
The No. 10 Louisville men’s soccer team defeated No. 17 Virginia 1-0 in the ACC quarterfinals at Lynn Stadium today.Tim Kubel’s 55th-minute strike was the difference between the two sides. Louisville improved to 12-4-2 and advances to the ACC semifinals.
“I thought it was one our best 90 minutes that we played,” Louisville head coach Ken Lolla said. “I thought we were very solid. Defensively, I thought our pressure was very good and didn’t give them many good looks. It was a really complete effort by our guys. I was proud of that.”
The first scoring chance went to Louisville in the 17th minute. Daniel Johnson passed to Danny Reynolds, who first-timed his cross to the right post. Romilio Hernandez rose above his defender to head the ball down, but it bounced before it reached the goal and went over for a goal kick.
Virginia’s defense looked improved, as they were able to withstand the Louisville pressure in the first half. Louisville did have their chances, but did not register a single shot on goal.
The Cards scored in the 55th minute. Reynolds crossed to the heart of the box, but a Virginia defender headed the ball clear. The clear could only go as far as to Kubel who volleyed from just outside the box. The shot deflected off a Cavalier defender to the left post for Kubel’s second goal of the season.
“The percentage of games won when you score the first goal is very high,” Lolla said. “We talked about the importance of scoring first, and it paid off.”
Louisville almost scored another in the 58th minute. After being fouled, Kubel took the free kick and crossed into the box. Michael DeGraffenreidt centered the ball to Mohamed Thiaw, whose header grazed the top of the crossbar.
Louisville dominated in all aspects of the game offensively. They enjoyed more possession of the ball, which led to a 15-4 shot advantage and a 14-1 corner advantage. Seven Cards shared two shots each.
With the win, U of L advance to the semifinals, where they will travel to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest. The two teams met in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament last year, and earlier this season with the Deamon Deacons winning both games by the score of 2-1.
“I think if we played the same amount of energy as we did this afternoon, and the same amount of discipline, there’s nobody in the country we can’t beat,” Lolla said. “Having said that we also know they’re going to be a really good opponent. They don’t score a ton, but they don’t give up a lot. They love the possession, so we’re going to have to find a way to disrupt that and get on the ball more.”
Louisville faces No. 2 Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
File photo / The Louisville Cardinal
