Saint Peter's Falls to Virginia in First round of 2007 NCAA Tournament
MAAC Sports
Charlottesville, VA - The Saint Peter's College Peacocks (15-6-1) fell to the #25 University of Virginia Cavaliers (12-7-1), 3-1 this evening in the First Round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Peacocks led 1-0 at halftime, but three second half goals by the Cavaliers gave them the victory. Virginia will now move on to face West Virginia University in Round Two on Wednesday night.
The Peacocks stormed out of the gate in the first half and had a great scoring opportunity just three minutes into the contest. They continued to put on the pressure and played the game in the offensive end. The Peacocks finally found the back of the net at the 29:11 mark as Assaf Sheleg threw the ball in from the near sideline into the box that Braulio Constantino redirected behind the Virginia keeper. Saint Peter's continued to put the pressure on and went into the break with a 1-0 lead. Saint Peter's had six first half shots to Virginia's four. They also had the only three corner kicks of the first half. Matt Lawlor made one save for the Peacocks, while Dan Louisignau made one save for the Cavaliers. The Peacocks also recorded a team save, as Jereri Edwards kicked away a Virginia shot in the final 10 seconds of the first half.
The game changed dramactically in the second half as Viriginia brought the pressure immediately. They continued to attack the Saint Peter's defense and at one point had six consecutive corner kicks. Finally on the sixth corner kick, Ross LeBauex headed in a Chris Tierney corner at the 50:08 mark to tie the game. The Cavs continued to put on the pressure and at 76:56 Yacob Rahav picked up his second yellow card, was ejected, and the Peacocks were forced to play the final 13 minutes a man down. Just six seconds later Neil Barlow found Jeremy Barlow whose shot was saved by Lawlor, but Dane Murphy was there to put in the rebound and give Virginia a 2-1 lead at 77:02. The Cavs put in their insurance goal at 83:42 as Jeremy Barlow found Tierney in the box who buried the shot. The game ended with Virginia winning 3-1.
Virginia had nine corners in the second half and won that battle 9-3. The Cavaliers also outshot Saint Peter's 21-8. Lawlor made five saves in the match to Louisignau's one.