Pittsburgh, PA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW): It was an emotional day in the Steel City for UVA Men’s Soccer. Before the month of October, the Hoos had two wins on their record. Since their October 1st loss to UNCG, UVA had won seven matches, drawn zero, and lost two going into Friday. One of those two losses came against the #1 seeded Pitt Panthers.

The Hoos gave the nod to Tom Miles to start in goal for his second postseason start, and he delivered again, keep a clean sheet with the aid of center back Nick Dang and the extremely cohesive, robust, and steady UVA defense. Miles made the only save of the match for both teams in the 1st half on an attack from Pitt towards the end of the first 45 minutes of play. The Hoos were more than content to allow the Panthers to hold the majority of the possession, and Pitt outshot the Hoos 8-4 across the full 90 minutes. Despite showing their quality and confidence on the ball, the Panthers could not beat Tom Miles, and in the 68th minute, they paid for it. For the second time in as many matches, in the blink of an eye the Hoos found their opponents’ net twice in a matter of minutes. On a Paul Wiese corner in the 68th minute, midfielder Umberto Pela headed home the first goal of his collegiate career to give the Hoos a 1-0 lead. Only 27 seconds after the match resumed, an AJ Smith interception set up a counterattack chance for the Hoos. Smith flew into the box with the greatest of ease, and slotted the ball into the bottom corner when he only had the keeper to beat, also scoring HIS first collegiate goal. Pittsburgh had no idea what hit them, and when they looked up, Miles, Dang, and the defense held had held the home side down, sending them through to the next round, and knocking out the #1 seed. Waiting for them in the ACC tournament semifinal are the 5th seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who just bested the SMU Mustangs 5-4 on penalties yesterday in quarterfinal action.