College Cup 2014: Score and Twitter Reaction for NCAA Soccer Championships

The University of Virginia Cavaliers defeated the UCLA Bruins on penalty kicks on Sunday to win the 2014 College Cup final, the seventh national title in the school's history.   

The NCAA shared the final result:

The final of this year's College Cup saw two of the absolute powerhouses of NCAA men's soccer go head to head, with both the Cavaliers and Bruins sending multiple players to the USMNT.

Expectations for the match were understandably high, and former international Alexi Lalas reminisced about his college days:

Unfortunately, the first half hardly lived up to the expectations. Virginia came out with a defensive game plan and UCLA failed to translate their dominance in possession in any real chances.

Chase Gasper tried to surprise the Cavaliers defense with an effort from long distance and Leo Stolz took a free kick from a promising position, but both attempts sailed high over the crossbar.

Both teams played with little energy, perhaps the result of this match taking place just days after the semifinals. Even the Bruins' official Twitter feed had to admit there wasn't much action to talk about during the first 45 minutes:

The first half ended scoreless, and The Washington Post's Steven Goff didn't mince his words when recapping what he had seen up until that point:

He was particularly harsh on the Cavaliers, claiming the team was parking the bus:

UCLA came out determined to grab the lead in the second half, pushing even deeper into Virginia territory. Larry Ndjock had two good looks on goal early, first directing a shot into the arms of Calle Brown before heading the ball just wide of the post.

Stolz also continued firing shots from distance, and one effort in particular came close to breaking the deadlock, as he fired just wide from the edge of the penalty box.

The Bruins' Twitter feed was impressed with the power the forward put into the shot:

Jon Lipsitz, the head coach of the University of Kentucky women's team, was finding it difficult to keep his focus:

The Cavaliers clearly had no intention of taking the game to their opponents, as shared by the team's Twitter feed:

Things got heated late in the match, as Edgar Contreras and Darius Madison were both yellow-carded after an altercation on the pitch. Shortly after, Virginia got its first shot on goal of the second half, but Scott Thomsen's free kick was well saved by Earl Edwards Jr.

Aaron Simmons nearly converted with a great header from a corner, and extra time seemed inevitable at that point.

With overtime just about to kick off, ESPN's Paul Carr gave his opinion on the match:

Virginia had already been involved in six overtime matches this season, and the team's Twitter feed shared their record:

UCLA's followed suit:

Brown came up with a huge stop to save his team six minutes into sudden death, blocking Abu Danladi's shot from close range that seemed destined for the back of the net.

The second half of overtime provided no danger of note, and the final headed for penalties. Alexi Lalas was disappointed with the Cavaliers' performance:

Thomsen saw his penalty saved, only for Gage Zerboni to hit the crossbar, as both teams were tied at 1-1 after two rounds. Willie Raygoza suffered the same fate a round later, giving the Cavaliers the lead.

No player would miss again, and Riggs Lennon gave Virginia its seventh title in school history with the final kick.

As shared by Fox Sports' Jacquie Franciulli, UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo took a shot at Virginia's tactics during his post-match press conference:

Virginia may have employed tactics that left many viewers and fans on social media disappointed, but players and coaches likely couldn't care less once they lifted the championship trophy. UCLA pushed for the winner but failed to muster any real chances apart from the last, in extra time, and it only has itself to blame for not scoring on an opponent seemingly disinterested in playing along.

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