CARY, N.C. — For 56 minutes, Virginia's vaunted defense held firm. Then Parker Sloan mistimed one challenge, and everything unraveled.
Stephan Soghomonian stepped to the penalty spot at 56:17 and calmly converted, lifting #7 SMU to a stunning 1-0 upset over top-ranked #1 Virginia in Sunday's ACC Championship before 1,255 spectators at WakeMed Soccer Park. That solitary strike—the only shot on target Virginia's defense would allow all afternoon—proved enough to deliver the Mustangs their fourth consecutive victory and deny the Cavaliers their first conference crown.
The opening 45 minutes belonged to neither team. Virginia controlled possession in stretches but couldn't penetrate SMU's organized defensive block. The Mustangs generated the half's best chances—Soghomonian testing Virginia's goalkeeper with dangerous efforts in the 18th and 19th minutes that forced routine saves. But clear-cut opportunities remained scarce as both sides felt each other out in a cagey championship affair.
The physical nature of the contest became evident early. Milton Lopez picked up SMU's first yellow card in the 40th minute for an unsporting challenge that sparked a brief VAR review for a potential red card upgrade. The officials deemed yellow sufficient, but the incident set the tone for an increasingly contentious second half.
Both coaches made tactical adjustments at the break, though not the ones the original match report suggested. Virginia withdrew Nicholas Simmonds and Marco Dos Santos—two players who had started the match—in search of fresh energy. SMU countered by removing Lopez, whose yellow card made him a liability in a match growing more chippy by the minute.
The Mustangs emerged from halftime with renewed purpose. Charles-Emile Brunet unleashed a dangerous shot from distance in the 54th minute that forced another save, signaling SMU's intent to take the game to their heavily favored opponents. Less than two minutes later, the breakthrough arrived.
Sloan, Virginia's defender, lunged to cut out a threatening through ball inside his own penalty area. His timing was fractionally off. The referee's whistle pierced the afternoon air, his arm extended toward the penalty spot. A VAR check confirmed the decision—penalty to SMU.
Soghomonian showed no hesitation. His strike was clinical, giving Virginia's goalkeeper no chance despite guessing the right direction. The Cavaliers' defense, which had conceded just twice all tournament, had been breached by a single moment of imperfect positioning.
The goal transformed the match's complexion entirely. SMU dropped deeper, compressing space and daring Virginia to break them down. The Cavaliers pressed desperately but couldn't fashion a single shot on target over the final 34 minutes—a remarkable defensive performance by the Mustangs that the statistics would later confirm: Virginia finished with zero shots on goal compared to SMU's four.
Soghomonian collected an unsporting yellow card just three minutes after his penalty, a tactical foul to break up a dangerous Virginia counterattack. The Mustangs' willingness to take cards to preserve their lead demonstrated their championship mentality.
Virginia's frustration mounted as the clock wound down. Albin Gashi received a yellow card in the 68th minute, with officials again reviewing VAR for a possible red card upgrade before deciding against it. Head coach George Gelnovatch made multiple substitutions—withdrawing Triton Beauvois, Parker Sloan, Bacary Tandjigora, Reese Miller, Brendan Lambe, and Stephen Hurlock in waves—but none of the changes unlocked SMU's resolute defense.
Mukisa Emmanuel tormented Virginia's backline with his pace, firing a dangerous shot in the 67th minute that required another save. The Mustangs' counterattacking threat kept the Cavaliers honest even as they poured forward in search of an equalizer that never materialized.
Luke Burns picked up Virginia's second yellow card in the 78th minute, another sign of the Cavaliers' growing desperation. A late VAR check for a potential SMU penalty in the 88th minute came to nothing, and the Mustangs held on to secure their historic upset.
The final statistics told a remarkable story: SMU's four shots on target to Virginia's zero, corner kicks dead even at one apiece, yellow cards split two each. But the most telling number was the one on the scoreboard—1-0, SMU.
The victory capped a remarkable tournament run for the seventh-seeded Mustangs, who had already defeated #2 Stanford 1-0 and demolished #6 Syracuse 5-1 to reach the final. Their defensive organization and clinical finishing in decisive moments—the hallmarks of championship teams—proved the difference against an opponent that entered undefeated in conference play.
For Virginia (12-2-4), the loss stings not because they played poorly but because they couldn't solve SMU's tactical puzzle. The Cavaliers controlled possession, pressed aggressively, and forced three saves from the SMU goalkeeper. None of it mattered against a Mustangs team that defended with discipline and executed when it counted.
SMU (11-4-4) enters the NCAA tournament as automatic qualifiers with significant momentum and legitimate national championship aspirations. Soghomonian's 56th-minute penalty will be remembered as the strike that delivered an ACC Championship and announced the Mustangs as a program that thrives in college soccer's biggest moments.