Big Second Half Propels Men’s Soccer to NCAA Second Round

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit Friday, scoring three second-half goals while dominating play en route to a 3-1 win over Saint Peter’s in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers (12-7-2) advance to meet No. 15-seed West Virginia Wednesday in Morgantown, W.Va. Saint Peter’s ends its season with a 15-6-1 mark.

Chris Tierney finished with a goal and an assist for Virginia, while Jeremy Barlow added two assists.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first half and being out-shot, Virginia came alive in the second stanza. The Cavaliers put a barrage of shots on Saint Peter’s goalkeeper Matthew Lawlor, recording 17 shots in the half to just two for the Peacocks.

Virginia knotted the score in the 51st minute as Ross LaBauex took a Tierney throw-in and headed it past Lawlor.

The Peacocks maintained the tie for the next 25 minutes despite constant pressure from the UVa offense. Saint Peter’s Yacob Rahav was whistled for his second yellow card in the 77th minute, and the Cavaliers immediately took advantage of the man-up situation as Dane Murphy took a rebound of a Jeremy Barlow shot and drilled it to the back of the net to give UVa the 2-1 lead. The goal marked the first of the season for Murphy and the fourth of his career – with three coming in postseason play.

The Cavaliers put the game away in the 84th minute as Tierney hit a short shot in the box over Lawlor. The goal was Tierney’s career-best seventh of the year.

Saint Peter’s took the first-half lead in the 30th minute as Braulio Constantino tapped a throw-in to the lower corner of the net past UVa goalkeeper Dan Louisignau.

Virginia finished with decisive advantages in shots (21-8), corner kicks (9-3) and shots on goal (9-2).