Once again, Cavs stumble in Sweet 16

In modern-day sports vernacular, the round preceding the quarterfinals is known as the “Sweet 16.”

But for the Virginia women’s soccer team, the “Sour 16” would be more apt.

On Saturday afternoon at Klockner Stadium, UVa gave up an early goal to Ohio State and could never recover, falling to the visiting Buckeyes, 3-2, before a crowd of 1,164 at Klockner Stadium.

The defeat marked the fifth year that Virginia has been bounced from the Round of 16.

“I attribute this to nerves,” said Virginia goalie Chantel Jones. “There was a lot of pressure on us to get past this round because we’ve been stuck here for a while now.

“I just can’t explain it. It just didn’t seem like ourselves for most of the first half.”

Just one minute and 59 seconds into the game, Ohio State midfielder Tiffany Cameron got the ball on the right wing. Cameron dribbled into the box, where she was approached by Virginia defender Kika Toulouse. Toulouse made an aggressive play toward Cameron, but whiffed on the tackle. Cameron continued deeper into the box and fired a blast that just eluded help defender Maggie Kistner and sneaked by Jones to the near post.

“It was disappointing,” said Virginia coach Steve Swanson, when asked about the defensive breakdown. “Ohio State hadn’t scored a lot of goals coming into this match. I think to get that goal, at that time, and the way they did — it gave them a lot of energy.

“She took it well, don’t get me wrong, but from our standpoint it was a soft goal that I felt we could have done better on — and I felt the same on the second goal, to be honest.”

That goal came with about 18 minutes to play in the half. Cassie Dickerson headed a cornerkick toward the net. Lauren Steuer nudged it over to Danica Wu, who was able to get her chest on it. The “shot” hit Jones in the midsection before trickling into the net.

After taking a 2-0 lead into the half, the Buckeyes tacked on what would turn out to be their most important goal in the 58th minute. Jones ranged far out of the net to corral a loose ball, couldn’t get a handle on it, and Steuer tapped a shot into the vacated net.

When asked which goal she’d like to have back, Jones responded: “All of them. I’m kind of upset with myself.”

Jones said Virginia didn’t have the focus it had in its previous wins.

“I don’t think it was about how they played,” she said. “It was about how we came out. We didn’t come out like our usual selves. We helped them win that game.”

Virginia (15-5-2) didn’t get on the board until the 64th minute, when Sinead Farrelly headed in a long Amanda Fancher bender past Ohio State goalie Katie Baumgardner. A few minutes later, the Wahoos nearly scored again when Meghan Lenczyk sent a cross into the box, but Farrelly’s header went off the crossbar.

In the 81st minute, UVa was able to make the game much more interesting when Gloria Douglas headed home a Fancher cross.

The game’s final nine minutes were a free-for-all as Virginia pushed forward, trying desperately for the equalizer.

With two minutes left, Virginia senior Colleen Flanagan pushed a shot just wide from only a few yards out. UVa’s last gasp came on a free quick with 11 seconds left from Lauren Alwine that Toulouse headed just over the crossbar.

“We knew in the second half that they were going to come out and put us under siege,” said Ohio State coach Lori Walker. “The clock couldn’t have moved any quicker.

“[My] team was trying to kill me, I think.”

The Wahoos’ sluggish start to the contest was certainly a surprise. Virginia was coming off 3-0 wins over Lehigh and South Carolina in the first two rounds of the tournament. Swanson called his team’s performance against the Gamecocks “superb.”

But Virginia was never in sync against Ohio State. The Wahoos seemed shell-shocked after Cameron’s early goal.

“I thought even down 3-0 we had chances to win it,” Swanson said. “The bottom line is that they took their chances well and we didn’t. Full marks to Ohio State. They came in here and got a win...

“We put a lot of pressure on them and had chances to even the game. I think if we tied the game, we would have won the game. No question. I was certain of that. We just couldn’t push the equalizer across.”

Farrelly, one of six seniors playing in their last game, summed everything up.

“It’s clearly a miserable feeling to have,” she said, referring to yet another Sweet 16 exit, “but I’m proud of my team for never giving up.”