ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512060011
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Brown soccer goalie Tim Webb thought there was no way Virginia could be better than the team he shut out in 1993.
Clearly, he was mistaken.
The Cavaliers may have had their easiest game of the postseason Sunday, routing the Bruins 4-1 and advancing to the NCAA semifinals for the fifth consecutive year.
``This program is very happy to make the final four,'' coach Bruce Arena said. ``It's as special for this program as it is for anybody, maybe more so because we know what it takes to get there.''
Top-ranked Virginia (21-0-2) will meet No.11 Duke for the third time this season Friday at Richmond Stadium. The Blue Devils (15-6-1) advanced with a 3-2 victory over visiting James Madison.
Brown had defeated Virginia in the teams' only previous meeting before Sunday. The Bruins were the last team to beat the Cavaliers, 2-0, in the Lanzera Sheraton Classic at Klockner Stadium.
``Coming into the game today, I felt confident because I didn't feel these guys could be better than the '93 team,'' said Webb, a senior who was in goal for the earlier shutout.
Webb pointed out that UVa's team that year included two-time national player of the year Claudio Reyna, final-four most valuable player Nate Friends and defender Brian Bates. It also had forward A.J. Wood, who until Sunday held the school record for points in a season.
That mark was broken by junior Mike Fisher, who had his second straight two-goal game Sunday and for the year has 21 goals and 15 assists - good for 57 points, three more than Wood had last season.
Fisher will have few goals more unusual than his first one, which gave Virginia a 2-0 lead with 6:36 remaining in the first half. Webb stopped Fisher's initial shot, at which point the ball looked as if it might roll out of bounds.
Webb and defender Tom James converged on the ball but stood watching while waiting for each other to make the play. Fisher then stuck his foot between them, flicked the ball away and booted it into the open net.
``They were thinking, `He's got it; he's got it,' and then Mike had it,'' Arena said. ``It's like being at the net in tennis. Sometimes you let the ball go when your partner has already decided you're going to hit it.''
James had played an undesired role in Virginia's first goal, which was credited to Sean Feary with 21:29 remaining before halftime. There was some question whether it was an own goal because the ball went off James' foot.
``I had a man [Feary] right on my back,'' James said, ``so, I did what I could to get it out of there. It would have gone in anyway, whether I tried to clear it or not.''
Virginia spent most of the first half in the Bears' end, and its domination continued after intermission. The Cavaliers outshot Brown 14-3, and UVa sophomore goalie Yuri Sagatov was required to make one save before exiting with 13:23 left.
UVa had four of 11 starters on the field when Brown's Yohance Edwards headed the ball past Cavaliers back-up goalie Mark Peters with 9:03 remaining. It was only the fifth goal permitted by Virginia in the last eight games.
``We were totally dominated,'' said Brown coach Mike Noonan, whose team previously had not surrendered more than two goals in a game this season. ``I think what Mr. Lennox said last week holds.''
Jim Lennox, the coach at Hartwick, said no team was capable of beating Virginia in its bid for a fifth straight Division I crown. The Cavaliers would have to beat themselves.
``I'll tell you what: These guys impressed me,'' Webb said. ``I didn't think these guys respected us two years ago. Maybe, they had no right to. But they respected us today.
``Two years ago, they hit posts and they hit the [crossbar] and it could have been 4-1. This time, they finished all of their chances. It's going to take a little luck to beat the Virginia Cavaliers, and today we didn't have any.''
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB