CARY, N.C. – It hasn’t been an easy year for University of Virginia forward Darius Madison.
The Philadelphia Union academy product was one of the country’s most explosive sophomores in 2013, scoring six goals and adding three assists in 23 games to help the Cavaliers to an appearance in the College Cup semifinals and earn second-team All-ACC and College Cup All-Tournament honors.
Now a junior, Madison was expected to expand upon his strong 2013 campaign this year. Unfortunately, he’s mostly fallen short of those expectations, struggling with a lingering ankle injury suffered in preseason and registering just three goals and one assist in 16 appearances coming into this weekend’s College Cup.
He flipped the script when it mattered most on Friday however, scoring a fifth-minute goal to power Virginia to a 1-0 national semifinal win over the University of Maryland-Baltimore County to put the ‘Hoos in Sunday’s title game against UCLA.
“[Scoring] was a big load off my shoulders,” said Madison, whose last goal entering Friday’s match came all the way back on Oct. 4. “This season’s actually been pretty rough for me. Coming in, I was really focused and really excited for the season, but I sprained my ankle in the first preseason game. That was a shocker and it hurt, but [Virginia coach George Gelnovatch] always told me just keep focusing, keep working hard and it’ll happen. It took a while, but it did, eventually.”
Madison did far more than merely find the back of the net on Friday. The Philadelphia native served as Virginia’s lone forward for most of the match, holding the ball and keeping possession well, and occupying UMBC’s strong center-back duo Oumar Ballo and Marquez Fernandez with some very intelligent movement.
“I thought it was his best game tonight, and so timely,” said Gelnovatch. “Not just because of the goal, either. That’s not an easy job what he was doing, not just scoring the goal but holding the ball, the ground he had to cover, being our outlet most of the time for the guys to be able to find. It’s been kind of tough for him [this year] because he turned his ankle pretty bad, literally the 16th of August, the second or third day of preseason, and it really made it difficult for him.
“But he picked the perfect time to have a great game, and I hope he’s got another one in him on Sunday.”
After Sunday’s final, Madison’s future will be up in the air. He’s got one year of college eligibility remaining, but would love to join his hometown Union at some point. Whether that time is next month or next year remains to be seen.
“I was asked the same exact question last year, and I have no idea,” Madison told MLSsoccer.com when asked about his plans for 2015. “My job as a player is just to get better and give my best for whatever time I’m on the big stage. [The rest] is totally up to [the Union].”
