[VIRGINIA-MARQUETTE: Men] Virginia looked to be in big trouble when defender Matt Brown was shown a red card just 57seconds into the game, but the Cavaliers held their composure and beat Marquette, 3-1, to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009 when they went on to win the national title. CoachGeorge Gelnovatch praised the Cavs for their mental toughness and attacking strength.
Brown received his marching orders after he tackled
“I have never been a part of a game like that,” Gelnovatch said.“I have never coached, at any level, down a man for 89 minutes. We have had a game plan for a week — a pretty detailed one. In 57 seconds, that went out the window.”
He praised theability of the Cavs to hang tough.
“It’s not something we’ve always had,” he said. “It’s something this team has developed. This will to win and mental toughness were ondisplay today.”
Marquette had its chances early, but Virginia goalkeeper Calle Brown had a strong game with three saves and did a good job ofshutting down the Golden Warriors’ aerial game.
Scott Thomsen put the Cavaliers ahead with a free kick in the 24th minute, and
Wharton’s goal was a back-breaker as it came 20 seconds after Marquette had reduced the deficit to 2-1 when Nortey beat Brown from 15 yards for his 10th goal this season.
“Ican’t say enough about it,” Gelnovatch said of the Cavaliers’ third goal. “[Marquette’s] goal was deflating. The momentum changed and we were tired.”
Gelnovatch praised the ability of his attackers — Jordan Allen, Marcus Salandy-Defour, Ryan Zinkhan and Madison — to take on defenders.
“We have played against some great teams and defenders,” he said, “but I think we have two or three guys who can really runat guys. That is how we got the penalty kick today and some other dangerous chances. Whenever those guys got themselves into that position, they had the green light to go, and it worked.”