Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW): Plenty of drama for UVA Athletics as the month of October gets into full swing.  Both soccer teams hit a snag, although one got up off the mat, the field hockey team stayed in rhythm despite a stumble, and UVA Football gave Wahoo fans a homecoming weekend to remember with one of the most memorable victories in recent memory.  As we do every week here on Cvillerightnow.com, let’s run it all down for you!   

The biggest game of the weekend was the homecoming game at Scott Stadium vs Boston College.  The Eagles were coming off a victory last weekend starting their backup quarterback while an injured Thomas Castellanos rested on the sideline.  Castellanos was back with a vengeance on Saturday against a UVA team coming off a bye week after their own victory two weeks ago against Coastal Carolina.  Castellanos led his offense to a first half lead, after all UVA could manage was a pair of field goals against BC’s two touchdowns. However, in a staggering display, the Hoos came all the way back in the second half, putting up 18 points in the 4th quarter alone and keeping BC off the board to win the game 24-14.  You can find Jay James’ full recap of the game HERE. The Hoos battle Louisville at home next week, who were knocked off this past weekend by the #25 SMU Mustangs, 34-27. 

As for the other kind of Football, the men began the week with a match against UNCG last Tuesday. Despite the break from conference play, UVA fell to the Spartans 2-1.  UNCG keeper Seth Wilson found himself in plenty of trouble over the course of the match, with UVA attackers demonstrating strong attacking instincts in chance creation early.  However, the Spartan defense survived the initial onslaught and made their opportunities at the other end count, taking an early lead thanks to Yoshiya Okawa.  That shot from Okawa was the only attempt from UNCG in the 1st half, compared to UVA’s seven on goal.  Virginia at last found a response in the 66th minute, in scintillating team goal fashion.  A neat combination of a Danny Mangarov cross, Luc Mikula set, and Daniel Burns finish, levelled the score with 20 minutes to play.  Continued pressure left UVA open on the counterattack however, and they lost focus as the minutes ticked down, leaving UNCG’s Daniel Longo to pounce on a defensive error and send the Spartans over the top in another defeat for the Hoos.  The match finished 2-1, despite the Hoos holding more of the possession (55%) and outshooting the Spartans 17-7.   

It didn’t get any easier from there, as the Hoos welcomed the Virginia Tech Hokies to Klockner Stadium on Friday for the Commonwealth Clash.  UVA needed a win badly and fortunately; the magic of homecoming allowed them to catch fire.  Everyone knew this game was going to be physical, as it usually is in the ACC, and the game certainly delivered on that front, with seven yellow cards issued in the match. The Hokies outshot the Hoos 13-5 in the half, but the Man of the Match shone brightly under the lights and held the VT attack at bay in a performance that has been coming for several weeks now.  Joey Batrouni made five saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless until the 42nd minute, setting up Danny Mangarov to win a dangerous free kick at the other side that the striker converted to give the home side the lead going into the interval.  Albin Gashi compounded the advantage for the Hoos as the Hoos finally began playing like a team broken out of a funk. The midfielder got on the other end of a diamond Paul Wiese cross, a sequence we’ve seen many times before across this rough run of form, but whereas before the attempt would not pan out, this time the ball rattled the twine to give the Hoos a 2-0 lead.  Batrouni continued his strong showing in net for UVA, and though his hopes for a clean sheet were dashed in the 80th minute by a header that narrowly skirted away from his hands and into his net, he made six more saves in the second half to make a total of 11 on the night.  The Hoos left the field with all three points against their bitter rivals, and I would wager it felt better than any other victory this season.  #10 JMU awaits the Hoos a little farther up Interstate 81 on Tuesday night.  The Dukes have yet to lose this year, winning five games and drawing in four, including this past weekend in Huntingdon, West Virginia, during a 2-2 affair with #5 Marshall.  The match will begin at 7:00 PM on ACCNX. 

It was a tough night for the Hoos on the road as their struggles continued in ACC play, UVA women’s soccer fell to the Duke Blue Devils 3-1 in Durham on Thursday.  Since winning in Coral Gables against Miami on the 12th of September, the Hoos have lost four straight games, all to conference opponents.    The Hoos had ten shots on goal in 90 minutes against the Devils, but only beat keeper Leah Freeman once.  Meredith McDermott was the one to find the back of the net, thanks to a well-placed corner kick from Linda Mittermair.  However, by then, the Hoos had already conceded three goals.   Freeman, though she failed to keep a clean sheet, made four saves of the ten she faced.  The dynamic Virginia attack did not seem to have answers for one of the best back lines in the nation, and on the other side, Duke’s attackers were having a lot of success creating space and scoring chances thanks to aerial superiority.  There is still time to right the ship, five games remain on the ACC schedule, including two next week home against a struggling NC State Wolfpack on Thursday, and a group of SMU Mustangs that matches up quite well with them on Sunday.   However, after four straight losses, adaptations need to be made, and the Hoos will make sure that they will be ready to win on Senior Night.    

Boston College, despite losing to Wahoo Football this weekend, did win a victory against a UVA team.  UVA Field Hockey was on the road in Newton against the Eagles this past Friday, having begun the season 9-0, and rattling off several wins against ACC opponents already.  The Eagles started out on the right foot against the Hoos, and put two past Tyler Kennedy at the start of the game, just 90 seconds apart.  UVA needed someone to step up to get them back in the game, and Dani Mendez-Trendler took matters into her own hands and belted in the Hoos’ first goal of the match after 35 minutes of play.  Mendez-Trendler was not done, as before the Eagles could celebrate, Taryn Tkachuk teed her up and she finished with ease, sending the match to overtime.  However, Madelieve Drion got it in her head to end the Cavaliers’ unbeaten run, and end it she did, two minutes into the overtime period.  The match ended 3-2 in favor of the Eagles, handing the Hoos their first loss in 2024. 

Elite teams rebound after a loss, and the Hoos did not waste any time finding their rebound at home against the visiting #16 Louisville Cardinals on Sunday.  The Cards kept the Hoos scoreless through the first three quarters of play.  At the other end, the visitors also kept the pressure on the UVA defense throughout the game and forced a few mistakes that gave them their share of scoring chances.  However, after conceding three tough goals against BC, Tyler Kennedy righted the ship and kept a clean sheet in the face of the Louisville attack.  The reward came two minutes into the fourth quarter, as Tkachuk, after her assist on Friday, found the net for the third time in the season as the fourth quarter began.  UVA saw off the remaining Louisville chances and notched their tenth win of the year by a score of 1-0.    The Hoos go into a bye week riding high, but with two more ranked opponents waiting for them after the break, facing #7 Saint Joseph’s and #15 Syracuse next Sunday, October 13th, and Friday October 18th.   

Despite dropping their first two matches of the season last week, the UVA Volleyball team rebounded with a bang against #16 Florida State on Friday.  The first set was tightly contested, with 11 tied scores across the volleys in that set, but Elayna Duprey and Brooklyn Borum hit .600 to allow the Hoos to keep the momentum though the Seminoles held an 18-17 lead, the Hoos won four of the next five points to win the set 25-21.  The Hoos entered a rhythm in the second set, earning a 20-19 lead despite the Seminoles outhitting the Hoos.  After a late timeout though, the Hoos put away their opponents to win their second set 25-21.  The Seminoles were never out of the match, but the Hoos committed fewer errors and stayed sharp longer across the match, finishing them off and sweeping FSU out 25-21 in the third set.  The sweep was a historic one, as this victory was the first time the Hoos beat a ranked opponent was fourteen years ago against these same Florida State Seminoles.  Riding high, the Hoos took the courts of the John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday in front of nearly 3,000 fans.  Their opponents were the 11-3 Miami Hurricanes.  Two more tightly contested sets started the day off.  In set one, the Hoos went down 10-6 to begin, but UVA rattled off four points alarmingly quickly to tie the set.  UVA went on another run and charged out to a 20-17 lead.  Miami fought back and came close to making the score 22-21, but after a challenge went the way of the Hoos, the point was cancelled and UVA wrapped up a 25-21 victory in set one.  The Canes took a couple of sizable leads in set two but it was not enough to hold the Hoos off, 18 kills had the crowd at deafening levels, and urged UVA on to another set victory 25-22.  Set three started out tight, but Abby Tadder and Brooklyn Borum wrested control away from the Canes quickly, and UVA did not relinquish the lead.  They rolled over the Canes to win the third set and the match for their 13th win of the year.  ACCNX will host UVA’s next two matches against Clemson on Friday, October 11th at 7:00 PM, and another ranked opponent in #19 Georgia Tech on Sunday, October 13th at 1:00 PM.  Both those matches will be on the road.   

Elsewhere across UVA athletics, the UVA Women’s Golf Team finished 7th at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Chicago.  Ben James of the Men’s Golf Team was named the ACC Golfer of the Month for September.  Lastly, Men’s and Women’s Basketball saw their first crowds of the year in the Blue-White Scrimmage on Saturday night.   Their season will begin in November. 

In the meantime, we will bring you the remainder of the Fall Sports season on-air at the flagship station of the Virginia Cavaliers, Newsradio WINA, and right here on Cvillerightnow.com. Go Hoos!