Marco Dos Santos gave Virginia the equalizer, but UCLA had the final say.
An 81st-minute goal from Logan Hall lifted the No. 11 Bruins past Virginia, 2-1, on Thursday night at Klöckner Stadium in the season opener for both sides. The Cavaliers got back level in the second half and pushed for a winner, but UCLA found the decisive strike late.
The first half belonged to the visitors on the scoreboard. Both teams had looks early, yet UCLA broke through in the 38th minute when David de la Vibora headed home a corner from Jaime Amaro. Virginia was outshot 8-4 in the opening 45 minutes, though Spencer Sanderson helped keep the deficit at one with a pair of saves in his UVA debut.
Virginia answered after halftime with a sharper stretch of play and got its reward in the 65th minute. Brendan Lambe helped build the move, and Dos Santos finished it off to bring the Cavaliers level.
From there, Virginia kept pressing. The Cavaliers outshot UCLA 10-6 in the second half and generated the kind of pressure that suggested another goal was coming. Instead, Hall’s shot from the top of the penalty area ended up being the winner for UCLA.
Dos Santos’ goal was his second as a Cavalier, while Lambe picked up the second assist of his career. Sanderson finished with five saves in his collegiate debut.
Virginia also got first-game minutes from six players: Isaac Mwakatuya, Arnold Matshazi, Spencer Sanderson, Ethan Martinez, Prince Abanfo and Chase Duke.
The numbers were close across the board. Each team finished with 14 shot attempts, but UCLA put seven shots on target to Virginia’s three. The loss also moved Virginia to 3-8-1 all-time against UCLA.
Head coach George Gelnovatch said the Cavaliers made useful adjustments after the break and had their moment in the match before things slipped away.
“We played a very good team in our opening game, and it was a good game. I thought the adjustments we made in second half were very good and we scored a great goal. I think we were turning the screws, and I felt like we had that moment in the game, and then some guys started cramping, we had some stoppage of plays, and we just kind of lost our way…It was a very solid performance against a quality opponent.”
He also pointed to the positives Virginia can carry forward.
“Think we were a little bit unlucky. [We are] still getting to know each other as a team.
We hadn’t conceded first in a preseason game, so I thought our reaction was actually overall positive in the second half. We came out and scored the goal, the team was ticking and we could have scored the second.
It’s a negative, but we can take the positives from it and go after the next one.”
Virginia returns to Klöckner Stadium on Monday to host No. 16 High Point. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).
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