Virginia beats Akron 3-2 on penalty kicks after scoreless game to win NCAA College Cup

Virginia tops Akron on PKs to win NCAA College Cup

CARY, N.C. — Virginia beat Akron 3-2 on penalty kicks after a scoreless game to win the NCAA Men’s College Cup on Sunday.

The Cavaliers won the championship when Blair Gavin, who made the clinching penalty kick to help Akron eliminate North Carolina in Friday’s semifinals, sent the final shot high over the crossbar.

The second-seeded Cavaliers (19-3-3) claimed their sixth College Cup championship and first since they won four straight national titles from 1991-94.

Virginia led 3-1 after three rounds of penalty kicks after Akron’s Zarek Valentin and Kofi Sarkodie failed to convert. Virginia’s Jonathan Villanueva and Greg Monaco each had a chance to clinch the title, but Akron goalkeeper David Meves saved both shots.

That set the stage for Gavin, who had been 5-for-5 on penalty kicks this season.

The top-seeded Zips (23-1-1), making their second College Cup appearance, came up short in their bid to win their school’s first NCAA team championship in any sport. This trip to the final four ended the same as their last one — with a loss to an ACC opponent. Duke beat Akron 1-0 in the 1986 final.

Akron’s game against North Carolina in the semifinals went down as a tie for both teams because it went to penalty kicks. But the NCAA makes an exception to the rule when the championship game goes to penalty kicks, declaring a winner and a loser.

The result ended Akron’s unbeaten streak at 24 games, even though the Zips did not allow a goal in the NCAA tournament.

The Cavaliers, playing in their first College Cup final since 1997, finished the season with a 16-game unbeaten streak. They recorded shutouts in 12 of their final 13 matches.