

Agony and ecstasy after Georgetown’s Arun Basuljevic missed a penalty kick in the fifth round. (By Mark Gail for The Washington Post)

The NCAA men’s tournament soccer quarterfinal had entered the final minute Saturday and, amid the cold rain and deepening mud, Georgetown was on the verge of a delightfully messy celebration with its drenched supporters at Shaw Field.

With the Hoyas ahead since Austin Martz’s smash early in the second half and an elite defensive unit absorbing pressure, “I was having a hard time seeing how we were going to [concede] a goal,” Georgetown Coach Brian Wiese said later.

He did see a goal, Todd Wharton’s volley with 52 seconds left to forge a 1-1 tie. And after extra time and a penalty kick tiebreaker, the 16th-seeded Cavaliers, not the No. 8 Hoyas, were rejoicing in the rain.

Virginia prevailed in the shootout, 5-4, converting every attempt and then winning when Hoyas freshman Arun Basuljevic hit the right post.

“You never lose hope,” Cavaliers Coach George Gelnovatch said of the comeback.

The six-time national champions (12-6-3) advanced to the College Cup for the second consecutive year and will play unseeded Maryland Baltimore County (14-5-5) on Friday in Cary, N.C. Eleventh-seeded Providence (16-4-2) will face No. 2 UCLA in the other semifinal.

A week earlier, the Cavaliers scored in the 82nd minute to upset Notre Dame, the top seed and defending champion. This time, again playing without injured all-ACC midfielder Eric Bird, they needed until the 90th.

Sheldon Sullivan served a long ball into the penalty area. On the left side, Riggs Lennon headed across the box to Wharton, whose eight-yarder beat Tomas Gomez to the right corner of the net.

Elation for the Cavaliers, deflation for the Hoyas, more exposure to the elements for 2,232 spectators who filled the small bleachers and stood, at some places two deep, around the field.

“It was a perfect flick,” Wharton said. “I didn’t even know why I was there, but I was fortunate to be in that spot.”

Said Hoyas midfielder Tyler Rudy: “We handled everything well. It was just a good play on their part.”

After Virginia’s Calle Brown made a reflex save on Josh Turnley’s header in sudden-death overtime, nine players converted penalty kicks – several were almost stopped by the respective goalkeepers — until Basuljevic’s attempt hit the upright.

The Hoyas had more than their share of drama in this tournament, scoring with five seconds left in overtime to defeat Old Dominion in the second round and edging Syracuse in extra time last weekend.

“Arun really wanted to be in that mix,” Wiese said of the player selections. “There is no glory in penalty kicks. There is only the threat of what happened to Arun happening. To have courage to do that is really what you admire.”

The Hoyas were admirable in their ability to control the match against the defensive-minded Cavaliers. But as the weather and field deteriorated, footing became more difficult and both teams had to guard against defensive missteps.

In the 59th minute, the conditions bit Virginia when a defender whiffed on a ball in the penalty area. The Cavaliers thwarted one attempt, blocking a shot to the top of the box, but Martz surged toward the stray ball and struck a thunderous one-timer from 17 yards that roared beyond the reach of 6-foot-5 Brown and splashed into the near top corner.



Austin Martz celebrates after scoring in the 59th minute. (By Mark Gail for The Washington Post)

With the score unchanged deep into the match, the Cavaliers committed more players into the attack but labored to break down the Georgetown’s resistance. Gomez watched two mild threats skip harmlessly wide.

The Cavaliers’ thinning backline exposed them to counterattacks, but the Hoyas could not take advantage.

In the last minute, Virginia struck.

“Down the stretch,” Gelnovatch said, “we starting having a little bit more of the ball because they are trying to defend a lead, and that gets a little dangerous with the weather and we’re starting to get more balls into the box.”