Chase Minnifield’s interception in the end zone in the final minute of the third quarter was incredibly impressive. He had to outjump above the receiver, control the ball, keep his momentum from carrying backward, and get his foot down. Think about how many times you’ve seen receivers on any level (high school, college, or the pros) unable to make that play when they need to climb the ladder on a high throw and then get a foot inbounds.

Honestly, watching live from the pressbox, I thought there was no way he got a foot down. It just looked like too difficult of a catch to make. Watching the replay? Wow.

So had Minnifield ever made a catch like that as an offensive player in high school?

“Nah, I mean, I don’t think so,” Minnifield said with a wide grin. “The toe tap I wasn’t even thinking about it honestly. I was just going to catch the ball and by the grace of God, my foot was down.”

That pick moved Minnifield into 14th place all-time on UVa’s career INT list with 10. He has had two interceptions in a game twice this season (VMI and Miami) and he now has six picks on the year.

In a game that had nearly twice as many fouls as total shots on goal, the No. 7 Virginia women’s soccer team sent the N.C. State Wolfpack packing after defeating them 2-1 Thursday night at Klockner Stadium.

In the fourth minute, N.C. State goalkeeper Kim Kern shot a free kick from just past the midfield line right over the outstretched hands of Cavalier junior goalkeeper Chantel Jones, putting the Wolfpack ahead 1-0.

The Cavaliers were able to equalize 10 minutes later when sophomore forward Erica Hollenberg tapped the ball past the goalkeeper, bringing the score to an even 1-1.

The game remained tied until about halfway into the second half, when freshman forward Gloria Douglas attacked off of a through ball into the box during the 24th minute.

Despite outshooting the Wolfpack 25-7, the Cavaliers were unable to finish many of their numerous chances in front of the net. The 2-1 score does not convey the Hoos’ overall dominance in possession.

“We weren’t our sharpest tonight, but we created enough chances to get the win,” Virginia head coach Steve Swanson told Virginiasports.com after the match.

This game marked the Cavaliers’ final home match of the regular season. The team will play its last game on Sunday at Clemson at 1 p.m. before the postseason begins on Nov. 3.

Combining state-of-the-art facilities with an electric atmosphere of fan support, Klockner Stadium provides the ultimate setting for premier collegiate soccer. Although it is a relatively young facility, barely 20 years old, tradition runs rampant at Klockner.

Take the ever-present “Ole” chants led by the Wahooligans, or the stomping of the crowd’s feet during a free kick. Or even take the vibrant sea of orange visible both in the bleachers and on the hillside. That sounds like a pretty formidable atmosphere for visiting teams, yet it is a typical game experience for Cavalier fans.

“Playing at Klockner is amazing,” said sophomore forward Ahkeel Rodney of the men’s team, “I would say [we] have the best college soccer atmosphere in the country.”

This weekend, the Virginia men’s and women’s soccer teams both welcome ACC opponents to Charlottesville. On Thursday night, the No. 7 women will host N.C. State in their final home game of the regular season. Then on Friday night, the No. 5 men face off with No. 3 Maryland in an anticipated top 5 match-up. Both kickoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m.

The quality of soccer? Superb. The atmosphere? Even the players – who, mind you, have actually been to quite a few other stadiums – say it is like no other. So, as we find ourselves in late October with the regular season winding down, come support Cavalier soccer at its one and only home.

Below is an update of how each University of Virginia football commit performed last week on the gridiron.  If no stats were available, there is an update on how the commit’s team is faring.  (Note:  The position(s) listed is what each commit plays for their high school team)

Diamonte Bailey, DE, Hermitage (Richmond, VA) - Hermitage continues to roll in 2010, crushing Douglas Freeman 48-0 to remain undefeated at 7-0.  The Panthers are #1 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch Top 10.

Thompson Brown, DE/TE, St. Christopher’s (Richmond, VA) - The Saints (5-3) couldn’t hold a 15-6 halftime lead, eventually falling to Episcopal 19-15.

Ross Burbank, OT/DL, Cox (Virginia Beach, VA) - The Cox Falcons earned a nice win last week, withstanding a late rally from Travis Hughes-led Kempsville for the 22-20 victory.  The Falcons are now an even 4-4 on the year.

Rob Burns, DE/TE, Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) - Stone Bridge ended Langley’s 5-game winning streak with a 50-10 victory.  The Bulldogs are now 8-0.

Vincent Croce, MLB/TE, Good Counsel (Olney, MD) - Fueled by 30 unanswered points, Good Counsel (6-2) earned a 37-14 win over St. John’s.  The Falcons have won its last two games by a combine scored of 79-14.

Tim Cwalina, LOT, Mount Lebanon (PA) - One game is all the stands between Mount Lebanon and an undefeated regular season.  The team improved to 8-0 after last week’s win over Peters Township.

David Dean, DT/OG, Green Run (Va Beach, VA) - Green Run captured a 34-28 win over First Colonial, improving to 5-4 on the season.

Adrian Gamble, WR, Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) – Gamble had 100 yards receiving — including a 60-yard touchdown catch — to help the Patriots defeated Rocky River 62-13.  Independence wins its third game in eight tries.

Kevin Green, QB, Petersburg (VA) - Petersburg surrendered 21 unanswered points to fall to Dinwiddie, 33-21.  Green led the Crimson Wave (4-2) with three touchdowns (2 rush, 1 pass) and 280 yards of offense (160 passing, 127 rushing).

Anthony Harris, QB/CB, L.C. Bird (Chesterfield, VA) - L.C. Bird (7-0) rallied from a 13-0 halftime deficit to beat Clover Hill 14-13 in a key Dominion district match-up.  Harris scored both of his team’s touchdowns, rushing in from 9 and 3 yards.  Clover Hill’s star junior, Joel Caleb, threw for two scores in defeat.

Kelby Johnson and Jordan Lomax, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) - DeMatha rolled Bishop O’Connell 39-17, gaining its third straight win.  This Saturday, the Stags take on a tough Carroll squad in a match-up of 6-2 teams.

Marco Jones, DE/OT, Boys’ Latin School (Baltimore, MD) - The Lakers (5-2) had a bye last week.

Darius Lee, LB/TE, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Alexandria, VA) - St. Stephen’s falls to 1-6 after a 22-0 loss to Landon.  SSSA will look to end a 3-game losing streak on Saturday, when it takes on Episcopal.

Kameron Mack, FS/WR, Norcom (Portsmouth, VA) - Norcom wins its eighth game in as many tries, this time clobbering Granby 48-7.  A tough test awaits this Friday, though, as the Greyhounds take on a 6-2 Lake Taylor squad.

Brandon Phelps, CB/WR, Damascus (MD) - A 21-point third quarter helped Damascus pull away from Northwood, 35-16.  Damascus is now 8-0.

Darius Redman, TE, H.D. Woodson (Washington, DC) - H.D. Woodson captured a big win last week, defeating DCIAA East rival Ballou 22-20.  Redman’s big interception helped secure the victory, but he also had an 8-yard touchdown reception.  Read more about his pick in the Washington Post.

Woodson is 5-3 overall but 2-0 in the DCIAA East.  Ballou loses its first game of the year, falling to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the East.

Clifton Richardson, QB/FS, Menchville (Newport News, VA) - Menchville is 1-7 after losing to Bethel 42-10.

Caleb Taylor, WLB, Phoebus (Hampton, VA) and David Watford, QB, Hampton (VA) - Watford’s 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter got the Crabbers (7-1) to within four at 10-6, but Phoebus (8-0) closed out the half with two touchdowns and rolled to a 37-12 win over its arch-rival.  The Phantoms defense, led by Taylor and UNC-bound Daquan Romero, held Watford to 6-of-18 passing and only 125 total yards.

Phoebus is ranked #3 in the USA Today Super 25 rankings.

Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA) wide receiver Quinta Funderburk has verbally committed to Arkansas according to Tigers head coach Rich Morgan.  The 6-2, 200-pound senior is the fourth player from the TheSabre.com Preseason Top 10 to make a commitment, joining Harrisonburg OL Landon Turner (#4 in the top 10, committed to UNC), Dinwiddie DE Corey Marshall (#5, VT) and Menchville (Newport News) RB/ATH Clifton Richardson (#7, UVa).

Six of the top 10 prospect remain uncommitted, including top ranked Hermitage (Richmond) LB Curtis Grant, Osbourn (Manassas) CB/WR Dominique Terrell (#2), Bayside (Virginia Beach) CB Demetrious Nicholson (#3), Kempsville (Va Beach) LB/RB Travis Hughes (#6), Ocean Lakes (Va Beach) QB/ATH Lafonte Thourogood (#9) and T.C. Williams (Alexandria) OL Jay Whitmire (#10).

Hughes and Nicholson plans to make official visits to UVa this weekend.

TheSabre.com introduced a new blog contest this week here on The Good Ol Blog. “Where Oh Where Is Boardhost?” is a picture identification contest – we’ll post a picture of Boardhost somewhere on Grounds and you have to tell us where. This week’s winner is Ryan Crain, selected by the Sequence Generator on random.org. Ryan correctly guessed that Boardhost was standing on Alderman Road in front of the Dunglison House dorm to win 3 months on the Sabre EDGE. Stay turned for next week’s contest!

The Sabre is introducing a new contest that will appear frequently here on The Good Ol Blog. “Where Oh Where Is Boardhost?” is a picture identification contest – we’ll post a picture of Boardhost somewhere on Grounds and you have to tell us where.

Entering is easy. All you have to do is email your guess to staff at thesabre.com! The contest will appear on Wednesdays here on the blog and the winner will be selected randomly on Friday; please don’t reveal the answer until then when we’ll announce the winner and the correct answer!

This week’s winner receives three months for free on the EDGE! Already a subscriber? You can enter the contest and if you win, you can extend your own account or give the subscription to a friend.

Here are the rules:

1. Only one email entry per person.
2. Each winner is only allowed to win once every 90 days.
3. No giving away the answer on the message boards! We’ll announce the correct answer and the winner at the end of the week.
4. All guesses must be specific. For example, if Boardhost is on the Lawn in front of the Rotunda steps, the answer must be “on the Lawn in front of the Rotunda steps” and not just “on the Lawn”.

Simple right? OK, here’s this week’s photo. “Where Oh Where Is Boardhost?”

Larry Rubama of PilotOnline.com has a report up on a couple of UVa’s top remaining 2011 class targets, Bayside (Va Beach, VA) CB Demetrious Nicholson and Kempsville (Va Beach) LB/RB Travis Hughes, whose teams squared off last week.  In the report, Hughes reveals he may be leaning in a certain direction but plans to finish out all five official visits before committing.

Nicholson, however, may not have a decision until December.  Both are expected to visit UVa on the weekend of Oct. 30 on official visits.

Below is an update of how each University of Virginia 2011 football commit performed last week on the gridiron.  If no stats were available, there is an update on how the commit’s team is faring.  (Note:  The position(s) listed is what each commit plays for their high school team)

Diamonte Bailey, DE, Hermitage (Richmond, VA) - The Panthers, ranked #4 in the Virginia State Group AAA Poll, blanked J.R. Tucker 43-0 to improve to 6-0 on the season.

Thompson Brown, DE/TE, St. Christopher’s (Richmond, VA) - After dropping two straight, the Saints (5-2) got back in the win column with a 28-20 victory over Bishop Ireton.  Brown blocked an extra point to maintain a 21-20 lead for St. Christopher’s, which tacked on a final touchdown to make the 8-point difference.

Ross Burbank, OT/DL, Cox (Virginia Beach, VA) - Cox blanked Tallwood 14-0.  The Falcons (3-4) are now winners of two of their last three.

Rob Burns, DE/TE, Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) - The Bulldogs improved to 7-0 with a 28-10 win over Madison.  Langley, winner of five consecutive games, is up next this Friday night.

Vincent Croce, MLB/TE, Good Counsel (Olney, MD) - Croce came down with his first-ever interception in Good Counsel’s 42-0 win over Paul VI.  The Falcons are 5-2.  Croce, who is leading his team in tackles, recalled what happened on the pick.

“It was a play-action pass.  I noticed the fullback in the flat and jumped the route.  It was a low ball and I just went and got it,” Croce said.

Tim Cwalina, LOT, Mount Lebanon (PA) - Another week, another win for the Lebos.  Mount Lebanon is undefeated at 7-0 after a 21-7 decision over Bethel Park.

David Dean, DT/OG, Green Run (Va Beach, VA) - Green Run lost big to a powerful Ocean Lakes squad and is now back to .500 (4-4) on the season.

Adrian Gamble, WR, Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) – The Patriots fall to 2-6 after losing a 42-35 shootout with South Mecklenburg.  Gamble had a 59-yard touchdown reception in the loss.

Kevin Green, QB, Petersburg (VA) - Green had what may have been his best performance of the season, totaling 245 yards of offense and three touchdowns in guiding Petersburg (4-1) to a 31-21 win over Hopewell.  Green completed 9 of 14 passes for 100 and a touchdown and rushed 15 times for 145 yards and two scores (9, 66).

Anthony Harris, QB/CB, L.C. Bird (Chesterfield, VA) - Harris’ 28-yard touchdown pass to Yahkee Johnson gave the Skyhawks a 21-7 halftime lead.  They went on to claim a 34-10 win over James River.  The win is Bird’s sixth in as many games and sets the stage for a battle of undefeated Dominion district rivals this Friday, when the Skyhawks take on Clover Hill.

Harris and Clover Hill junior Joel Caleb were both in Charlottesville on Saturday and UVa defensive coordinator Jim Reid joked with the two prospects after the game.

“Coach Reid kind of did a little joke,” Harris recalled.  “We were right there and he asked who we play this week.  He knew the answer (laughs).”

Kelby Johnson and Jordan Lomax, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) - The Stags are 5-2 after a 21-14 win over St. John’s.  Lomax, a safety, commented on the play of offensive tackle Kelby Johnson and junior defensive ends Michael Moore and Brent Wilkerson.  All four prospects were in Charlottesville on Saturday.

Johnson – “He is doing real good,” Lomax said.  “Last week, our offensive line had a great game.  I saw them put a couple of people on the ground.”

Moore and Wilkerson – “They can sack the quarterback very quick,” Lomax said.  Both juniors have been offered by UVa.

Marco Jones, DE/OT, Boys’ Latin School (Baltimore, MD) - Boys’ Latin lost to Archbishop Spalding 39-29, dropping its first conference game of the year.  The Lakers (5-2) have now lost two straight.

Darius Lee, LB/TE, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Alexandria, VA) - Two defensive touchdowns and a 20-yard blocked punt return by Lee helped St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes take a 21-6 lead, but Bullis stormed back to claim a 42-31 victory.  SSSA is now 1-5.

Kameron Mack, FS/WR, Norcom (Portsmouth, VA) - Norcom (7-0) remains undefeated after a 20-14 win over Churchland.

Brandon Phelps, CB/WR, Damascus (MD) - Damascus remains undefeated (7-0) with a win over previously undefeated Sherwood.  It appears that Phelps is still slowed by a strained hip flexor.

Darius Redman, TE, H.D. Woodson (Washington, DC) - H.D. Woodson defeated McKinley 20-15 last week and is now 4-3.

Clifton Richardson, QB/FS, Menchville (Newport News, VA) - Menchville was beaten by Phoebus, 44-6, and falls to 1-6.  Richardson did not play, reportedly because he was in a wedding.

Caleb Taylor, WLB, Phoebus (Hampton, VA) - Phoebus (7-0) is now winner of 37 straight games after a 44-6 over Menchville.  The Phantoms’ attention now turns to arch-rival Hampton, as the two will battle this Friday night.

David Watford, QB, Hampton (VA) - Watford had a 1-yard touchdown run in Hampton’s 63-7 win over Bethel.  As the Daily Press reports, the Big One is here.  Hampton and Phoebus are both undefeated at 7-0 heading into Friday night’s matchup.

A number of top football recruits were on hand for last night’s loss to UNC.  I’ll be on the phones working to catch up with these prospects today and throughout the week, so stay tuned for more on TheSabre this week. 

UVa commits Vincent Croce (DL – Good Counsel, Olney MD), Anthony Harris (DB/WR – L.C. Bird, Chesterfield, VA), Kelby Johnson (OL – DeMatha, Hyattsville, MD) and Jordan Lomax (DB/WR, DeMatha) are confirmed to have been in attendance.  Boys’ Latin School (Baltimore, MD) DE Marco Jones and Hampton (VA) QB David Watford were also expected to be there.

2011 targets in attendance included 5-star offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio (DeMatha), T.C. Williams (Alexandria, VA) offensive lineman Jay Whitmire and Osbourn (Manassas, VA) wide receiver Timmy Keith.

The 2012 class was represented well also, with Clover Hill (Midlothian, VA) athlete Joel Caleb, Centreville (Clifton, VA) LB/DE Ken Ekanem, Richlands (VA) LB Devon Johnson, DeMatha DE/TE Michael Moore and DeMatha DE/TE Brent Wilkerson.  Four of the five juniors listed — Johnson excluded, though he reportedly has been offered — are confirmed to have been offered by Virginia.