#11 Virginia Men's Soccer Records 2-0 Shutout Victory Over Pittsburgh
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Nov. 5, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia men’s soccer team recorded a 2-0 shutout victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers in a non-conference match in front of 542 rain-soaked spectators at UVa’s Kl?ckner Stadium. The Cavaliers’ duo of Ryan Gibbs (West Chester, Pa./East) and Ryan Kelly (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) each scored a goal and UVa goalkeeper David Comfort (Richmond, Va./Monacan) made some crucial saves down the stretch to preserve Virginia’s fifth shutout victory of the year.
UVa took a 1-0 lead at the 20:09 mark when Kelly sent a pass upfield to teammate Eric Solomon (Livingston, N.J./Livingston), before Solomon gathered the ball and sent a cross to Gibbs for a one-timer that ended up in the back of the Panthers’ goal. Gibbs’ goal, his sixth of the season, resulted in the game-winning score. The Cavaliers would take their one-goal lead into the locker room at halftime.
Virginia added an insurance goal at the 78:21 mark when Kelly and teammate Rob Wright (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) played a little give-and-go with the Pittsburgh defense. Kelly touched the ball to Wright, weaved through the Panthers defense, and gathered a pass back from Wright that he put into the goal to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead. Kelly’s goal was his fifth of the season. That would be all the scoring Virginia would need as UVa held on for the 2-0 victory.
The Cavaliers’ Comfort made four saves in goal in the win. The Panther’s Justin Gaul also made four saves in a losing effort.
With the victory, Virginia’s record improves to 12-5-0 overall, while the loss drops Pittsburgh’s record to 8-9-1 on the season. UVa is now a perfect 11-0-0 at home this season and is currently on a six-game winning streak. The Cavaliers have won nine of their last ten matches and improved to 2-0-0 all-time against the Panthers in men’s soccer.
Virginia will return to home action on Friday, November 8th when UVa hosts the Temple Owls in a non-conference match. The contest will be the Cavaliers’ final regular season match of the season before heading off to Cary, N.C. to compete in the 2002 ACC Championship (Nov. 14-17). The game against Temple is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM and will be played at Virginia’s Kl?ckner Stadium.
Scoring 1 2 FPittsburgh (8-9-1) 0 0 0Virginia (12-5-0) 1 1 2
Goals: Virginia 2 – Gibbs (Solomon, Kelly) @ 20:09, Kelly (Wright) @ 78:21.Pittsburgh – none.Shots: Virginia 20, Pittsburgh 6.Corner Kicks: Virginia 6, Pittsburgh 3.Saves: Virginia 4, Pittsburgh 4.Fouls: Virginia 24, Pittsburgh 19.Offsides: Virginia 2, Pittsburgh 2.Cautions: Virginia 1 – Arena, Pittsburgh 1 – Carrizales.Attendance: 542.
— UVa —