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Virginia has a chance to build momentum with shaky Miami coming to town

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Virginia has a chance to build momentum with shaky Miami coming to town


By Jerry Ratcliffe

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal (Picture: College of Miami Athletics)

The panorama within the ACC Coastal Division reworked a bit over the weekend, permitting Virginia soccer an opportunity to show issues round.

UVA, which pulled off a gentle upset at Georgia Tech, stopped the bleeding with impeccable timing. Tony Elliott’s Cavaliers don’t go away the state of Virginia for the rest of the common season, and have an opportunity to construct momentum if they will use the win over the Yellow Jackets to achieve some steam.

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Virginia hosts Miami, North Carolina, Pitt and Coastal Carolina (who was hammered by ODU not too long ago) earlier than ending the schedule in Blacksburg. The Coastal resembles a dumpster hearth for probably the most half, regardless that Carolina appears to be getting itself collectively. The Coastal is so unhealthy that some ACC followers are wishing divisional play would finish this season as a substitute of 2023, in order that Clemson and Wake may play in a rematch for the convention championship recreation in Charlotte.

Miami involves Charlottesville on Saturday, reeling from a turnover-plagued, 45-21 loss to Duke. The Hurricanes turned the ball over eight instances within the recreation and beginning quarterback Tyler Van Dyke suffered a shoulder harm (standing pending). When Van Dyke was KO’ed, Miami turned to backup Jake Garcia, who was accountable for 5 of these eight turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles). The eight turnovers had been probably the most by a Energy 5 college since 2009 (half of Miami’s had been within the fourth quarter).

New Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal was so pissed off with the best way his crew carried out, he didn’t conceal his emotions afterward.

“You both repair it otherwise you get people who care and play as exhausting as you’re imagined to as a Miami Hurricane,” Cristobal stated. “What we’ve obtained to do requires powerful folks. To show this system round, to rebuild it, requires tough-minded folks. If [a lack of effort] exhibits up on tape, they’ve obtained to go play some place else.”

Miami was the favourite of media that voted within the ACC preseason ballot to win the Coastal and play Clemson for the league title. Nonetheless, the Hurricanes haven’t come near resembling that kind of crew.

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As an alternative, they misplaced to Center Tennessee (45-31) and to Duke (45-21, and the Devils took a knee on the Miami 5 to finish the sport). The Hurricanes have misplaced 4 of their final 5 video games. Their three wins have come towards Bethune-Cookman, Southern Miss and Virginia Tech (20-14).

Within the losses to Duke and Center Tennessee, media that cowl Miami reported that it appeared Hurricanes gamers “give up” through the second half.

Ought to that be the case, then Virginia must pour a number of power in getting off to a quick begin Saturday and see if Miami can deal with one other dose of adversity.

UVA’s protection performed nicely at Georgia Tech towards a backup quarterback who made the Yellow Jackets very one-dimensional.

In reality, John Rudzinski’s protection is tied for twelfth within the nation in fumbles recovered with 8; tied for eleventh within the nation (third within the ACC) in crew sacks with 23; and twenty ninth nationally in turnovers gained with 13.

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Now, if Des Kitchings’ offense can solely cease enjoying giveaway, Virginia would possibly be capable to get one thing going.

“If we take away these freakin’ turnovers and these drops, this [offense] will probably be fairly,” Kitchings stated after beating Georgia Tech. “It’ll be fairly. It’s going to come back.”

Brennan Armstrong was intercepted twice in that recreation, though each balls had been tipped. Receivers dropped a minimum of 4 passes, together with one ultimately zone.

Whereas Elliott appeared inspired, Miami’s Cristobal didn’t.

“Most significantly, if you undergo one thing like this and also you get hit within the face like this, you’ve obtained to be powerful sufficient to look one another within the eye and go to work,” the Miami coach stated. “It doesn’t magically get higher.”

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15-year-old accused of shooting teen near Lake Edward in Virginia Beach

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15-year-old accused of shooting teen near Lake Edward in Virginia Beach


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A 15-year-old boy is charged with shooting a teen over a week ago near Lake Edward in Virginia Beach, police say.

The shooting happened just before 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 10 in the 5000 block of W. Hastings Arch.

Police say officers responded to the shooting following an alert from ShotSpotter, which is technology that can detect gunshots.

Watch related coverage: Suspect arrested in deadly shooting at busy Portsmouth intersection

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Suspect arrested in deadly shooting at busy Portsmouth intersection

Officers then found a 15-year-old boy from Virginia Beach who had been shot, police say. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Last Thursday, police charged a boy — also a 15-year-old from Virginia Beach — in connection to the shooting. He’s charged with malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, police added.

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The shooting is still under investigation. Police ask anyone with information to call detectives at 757-385-4101 or Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.





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Bowl Projections: West Virginia’s Stock Takes Big Hit Following Latest Loss

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Bowl Projections: West Virginia’s Stock Takes Big Hit Following Latest Loss


Another wasted opportunity at home for the West Virginia Mountaineers this past weekend as they fell to the Baylor Bears, 49-35.

Much of the conversation entering the week was about who head coach Neal Brown would start at quarterback. He turned back to Garrett Greene, who had an okay day throwing the football but did add over 120 yards on the ground to help fuel the Mountaineers’ offensive attack. It wasn’t his best overall performance, but it was more than enough to win.

Unfortunately, West Virginia’s defense returned to its struggling ways, allowing 512 yards of offense, 329 of which came through the air. Baylor’s 35 first-half points were the most of any Big 12 team in a league game this season.

With the loss, the Mountaineers essentially eliminated themselves from a spot in the Big 12 championship game, and their bowl stock took a massive hit.

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The Mountaineers have two games remaining in the regular season and must notch one more win to become bowl-eligible. This week, they’ll play host to the UCF Knights, who were everyone’s dark horse to win the Big 12 back in August. After getting out to a 3-0 start, the Knights lost five straight.

Despite most sportsbooks opening this week’s game with UCF as the favorite, I like West Virginia’s chances to get the win. They are a run-heavy team, and that’s the one thing the Mountaineer defense does fairly well.

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If they fail to collect win No. 6 this weekend, it’ll all come down to their trip to Lubbock the following week. Texas Tech has Oklahoma State this Saturday and will likely be gunning for win No. 8 when West Virginia comes to town. If the Red Raiders win out, that will be their best regular season finish since 2009.

1. Valero Alamo Bowl vs Pac-12, Saturday, Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. EST, ABC

2. Pop-Tarts Bowl vs ACC/ND, Saturday, Dec. 28, 3:30 p.m. EST, ABC

3. TaxAct Texas Bowl vs SEC, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

4. AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs SEC, Friday, Dec. 27, 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN

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5. Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs Big Ten, Thursday, Dec. 26, 5:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

6. Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Pac 12, Saturday, Dec. 28, 9:15 p.m. EST, ESPN

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Between The Eers: The Morning After Baylor



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Northwestern field hockey prevails in overtime battle with Virginia

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Northwestern field hockey prevails in overtime battle with Virginia


A championship-caliber clash played out Sunday on Lakeside Field, with No. 2 Northwestern and unseeded Virginia battling for a coveted NCAA tournament semifinal berth. 

Two battle-tested teams from the nation’s premier conferences exchanged blows like prized fighters. Neither group would gift wrap a win for its opponent with a fatal error — someone had to find an extra gear to garner an elusive victory.

Coach Tracey Fuchs’ squad had been in this situation before, prevailing 3-2 over Louisville in last season’s quarterfinal, knocking off Iowa in a shootout during the 2022 Elite Eight and defeating the Hawkeyes 1-0 on that same stage in 2021. 

For Fuchs, her team’s experience in close contests throughout the campaign built the foundation for postseason success. She’d watched her squad secure a comeback 3-2 victory at Princeton, grind out a 2-1 overtime win at Michigan and suffer its lone loss to the Wolverines in the conference championship. Sunday, it was win or go home.

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“We’ve been in five, six really tough battles — maybe even more than that,” Fuchs said. “That’s what makes championship teams.”

In a game that packed several lead changes, yellow cards, a disallowed goal and an overtime winner, the Wildcats (21-1, 8-0 Big Ten) defeated the Cavaliers (14-5, 6-2 ACC) 3-2. The win punched the program’s ticket to a fourth consecutive Final Four.

The ’Cats trailed for the first time in NCAA tournament play, falling behind on Virginia midfielder Suze Leemans’ penalty corner conversion with 74 seconds remaining in the first half. The disciplined Cavalier defense held NU to just four shots in the opening 30 minutes.

Still, Fuchs said she felt a breakthrough was imminent at halftime. She added that she was pleased with her team’s first-half effort — it just needed a few bounces to go its way.

“We knew there was nothing drastic that needed to happen — we just had to keep plugging away, keep finishing,” senior midfielder Maddie Zimmer said.

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The hosts found just that in the third quarter, with freshman midfielder Elaine Velthuizen nabbing an equalizer and sophomore forward Ashley Sessa scoring the go-ahead goal. The ’Cats fired six shots during the frame — good for Virginia’s total shot output Sunday.

NU seemingly carried all the momentum, leading 2-1 as the final quarter approached.

“I came in after the third (quarter) and knew we were in a good spot,” Fuchs said. “You just look around, and when you have the leadership you have with these guys, my job is easy. I know they’re going to be ready for the next whistle.”

But the Cavaliers’ comeback push packed a potent punch. Virginia midfielder Daniela Mendez-Trendler recorded her eighth goal of the season just 28 seconds into the fourth quarter, tying the game at 2-2. 

Midway through the period, sophomore forward Olivia Bent-Cole celebrated a would-be winner on a redirected effort in front of the net. The NU sideline erupted in relief, but a minutes-long video review ensued.

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As Lakeside Field’s once raucous crowd dissipated to a hushed whisper, the referee waved off Bent-Cole’s effort, setting up a contentious final seven minutes. With neither side pulling ahead in the closing moments, the ’Cats headed to their second overtime period this season. 

Ahead of Sunday’s clash, Fuchs watched Amazon Prime Video’s docuseries “Face Off: Inside the NHL.” She said she had one major takeaway from the show as Zimmer and graduate student midfielder Lauren Wadas lined up in their usual spots for an extra-time penalty corner.

“Your best players just need to make one good play,” Fuchs said. “They don’t have to make eight, nine, and although (Wadas) made more than one good play today, that’s the play we’ll remember. You want to put the game on these guys’ shoulders because you know they can carry the load.”

When the ball broke to Wadas’ ideal spot in the shooting circle, the fifth-year — who’d been a key architect to NU’s three consecutive national championship appearances — left no doubt. 

It was a tailor-made play call for an All-American difference-maker. Amid a high-stakes contest, where every moment carried the weight of a potential winner, Wadas sent her team back to Ann Arbor: the site of the ’Cats’ first-ever national title in 2021.

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