CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- Nick Simmonds found the back of the net in the 78th minute to lift Virginia to a 2-1 win over North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Sunday at a jam-packed Klockner Stadium.

The visitors took an early lead with a Gabriel Bracken Serra goal to bring the score to 1-0 UNC.  

However, Triton Beauvois knotted the match with a goal of his own just seven minutes later.  The end-to-end match broke the Cavaliers’ way in the 78th minute, when Simmonds fired home his ninth goal of the year to win it for UVA.  

The Virginia defense saw the match out and brought Klockner to a fever pitch when the final whistle blew, ending 2-1 in favor of UVA. The Hoos will face the Cal Golden Bears in the ACC semifinals on Thursday evening in Cary, N.C.

Women’s Soccer: The women’s soccer team had its turn in the ACC semifinals in Cary on Thursday.  Coming off a penalty shootout victory against Florida State, the Hoos took on top-seeded Stanford. The Cardinal jumped out to a 3-0 first-half lead before a Virginia second-half surge fell a goal short.

Stanford’s 3-2 win advanced it to the championship match.

Looking for revenge following Stanford’s 2-1 victory in the regular season, the Hoos fell behind early, with Stanford’s dynamic attack that has littered the tables of most statistical categories in the ACC, beating Victoria Safradin three times in the Virginia net before the first half ended.  Safradin made six saves in the first half and kept the Cardinal off the board in the second half.  Meanwhile, her teammates cut the lead to just one, before time ran out on the rally.

Field Hockey: Field Hockey was also in ACC Tournament action this week, and it too was filled with drama.  In Tuesday’s quarterfinal, powered by an Emma Watchilla brace, UVA sent Stanford packing 4-3 to advance to the semifinals and face Syracuse.  Regulation could not separate the two sides, and proceedings went to a shootout.  Virginia’s shooters did their part, going a perfect 4-4 from the spot.  It came down to the reigning ACC Keeper of the year, Nilou Lempers, who made two saves to start the shootout, allowing the Hoos to power themselves ahead to the final by a score of 3-2.  That was where the magic ended however, as their ever-present rivals, the UNC Tar Heels, bested them in the ACC tournament again, 4-1.  

Virginia still earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, squaring off with Miami (OH), Friday at noon. 

Volleyball: Volleyball’s struggles continued over the weekend as the chances to move up the ACC table continue to dwindle.  They battled two ranked opponents and were swept by both.  No. 10 SMU swept the Hoos out of Dallas on Friday, and No. 4 Pittsburgh let the Hoos nowhere near the match, sweeping them out of the Three Rivers area as they headed home to Charlottesville.  Next weekend, the Hoos battle No. 15 UNC on Friday, and Duke on Sunday.   

Wrestling: It was the first dual action of the year for Steve Garland’s wrestling team.  In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania over the weekend, the Hoos went 1-1 in two duels on Saturday.  They bested Long Island University comfortably by a score of 39-3.  Following that, they battled a top ten program, in No. 8 Lehigh, putting in a strong showing though they fell to the Mountain Hawks, 21-17.  Nine wrestlers placed in their weight brackets wearing UVA colors in Sunday’s individual action.  The Hoos head to Ohio next week for a dual match with Kent State next Saturday at 2 p.m. The match will take place at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. 

Football: Football’s seven-game winning streak ended Saturday night at the hands of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a score of 16-9.  Quarterback Chandler Morris exited the game early for the Hoos after taking a big hit, and the Virginia offense could not muster much potency throughout the rest of the game.  Updates on Morris’ condition will come during the Coaching Staff’s press conference on Tuesday afternoon.  Following the upset, Virginia hits the road to battle the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. 

Basketball: Both Basketball teams began their seasons with a record of 2-0 last week.  The Ryan Odom era began on Monday on the John Paul Jones Arena court with an 87-53 victory over the Rider Broncs, and the Hoos followed that up with an 81-62 triumph over NC Central on Friday night.  Meanwhile, the Cavalier Women began their campaign with a pair of blowouts last week.  The first took place in their season opener on Tuesday night over the Morgan State Bears by a score of 86-36.  The Hoos then took on the Bucknell Bison on Sunday afternoon and hammered their Patriot League opponents 80-35.   The Cavalier Women will take on the Retrievers of UMBC this coming Thursday at JPJ beginning at 7 p.m.  Meanwhile, the Men’s teams next game is Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. against Hampton University in a late JPJ night.  Following Hampton, the Marshall Herd comes to town on Saturday beginning at noon from John Paul Jones Arena.   

More action: Rowing took care of business at the Rivanna Romp on Sunday. Virginia won both the Varsity Four and Varsity Eight.  Finally, Melodie Collard and Vivian Yang punched their tickets to the NCAA Doubles Championships next week at ITA Sectionals.  Martina Genis Salas successfully qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships with two victories over the weekend as well.