#1 Virginia Men's Soccer Records 4-1 Victory Over VCU In Maryland/FILA Classic
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Sept. 6, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The #1 ranked University of Virginia men’s soccer team posted a 4-1 victory over the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in the first contest of the 2002 Maryland/FILA Classic in front of 344 spectators at Ludwig Field. UVa’s Alecko Eskandarian (Montvale, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and Rob Wright (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) each scored a pair of goals to help lift the Cavaliers to their 19th win over the Rams, and UVa’s third victory of the season. Virginia improved its record to 19-0-1 all-time against VCU, and the Cavaliers have now outscored the Rams 91-8 over the 20-game series.
UVa took a 1-0 lead at the 26:50 mark when Joe Vide (Raleigh, N.C./Bavarian International School), making his first appearance as a Cavalier, entered the game and found Eskandarian with a cross that resulted in the contest’s first goal. VCU tied the game at 1-1 at the 32:24 mark on an own goal by the Cavaliers when a crossing pass and shot were taken by two VCU players before the ball was deflected into UVa’s goal by a Cavalier defender. The two teams would go into halftime tied at 1-1.
UVa took a 2-1 lead at 72:20 when Eskandarian scored his second goal of the contest (the eventual game-winner) when Kenny Arena (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) sent a cross that Eskandarian tucked into the VCU goal for his fifth goal of the year. Virginia extended its lead to 3-1 and then to 4-1 in a span of 1:27 second when the combination of Wright and Eric Solomon (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) teamed together on nearly identical scoring plays. On two separate breakaway plays, Solomon found Wright with a cross that resulted in a goal (at 83:51 and at 85:16) to give UVa a three-goal lead. Wright’s goals were his second and third of the season.
The Cavaliers’ David Comfort (Richmond, Va./Monacan) gathered three saves between the pipes in the victory.
With the victory, Virginia’s record improves to 3-0-0 overall, while the loss drops VCU’s record to 2-1-0 on the season.
UVa will return to action on Sunday, September 8th when Virginia faces the Penn State Nittany Lions. The contest is scheduled for 12:00 noon and will be played at Ludwig Field on the campus of the University of Maryland.
Scoring 1 2 FVirginia (3-0-0) 1 3 4VCU (2-1-0) 1 0 1
Goals: UVa 4 - Eskandarian (Vide) @ 26:50, Eskandarian (Arena) @ 72:20,Wright (Solomon) @ 83:51, Wright (Solomon) @ 85:16.VCU 1 - UVa own goal @ 32:24.Shots: VCU 11, UVa 9.Corner Kicks: VCU 8, UVa 0.Saves: UVa 4, VCU 1.Fouls: VCU 20, UVa 15.Attendance: 344.
— UVA —