Virginia Men's Soccer Looks To Remain Unbeaten Against VCU

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Nov. 4, 2003

VCU Rams (13-4-0, 8-1-0 CAA) vs.Virginia Cavaliers (8-8-0, 3-3-0 ACC)November 7th, 2003Kl?ckner Stadium7:00 PM

VIRGINIA VS. VCU SERIES: Virginia leads the all-time series with VCU 19-0-1 (.975) in men’s soccer. UVa has never lost to VCU in men’s soccer through the 20 career meetings in the history of the two programs. The Cavaliers have outscored the Rams 91-8 through the 20-game history.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Virginia defeated VCU by the score of 4-1 the last time the two teams met on September 6, 2002 in College Park, Md. in the Maryland/FILA Classic. The win helped UVa remain undefeated against VCU. The lone tie in the series occurred on September 17, 1981 in Charlottesville, Va. when the two teams played to a 1-1 tie.

RIGHT WHERE THEY WERE PICKED TO FINISH: Virginia was picked to finish third in the 2003 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, and that is exactly where UVa finished. In fact, the top four teams finished in order as they were projected to finish. Below is the projected and actual finish for the 2003 ACC standings:

Rank	Projected Finish		Actual Finish1. 	Maryland           		Maryland2. 	Wake Forest       		Wake Forest3. 	VIRGINIA        		VIRGINIA4. 	North Carolina   		North Carolina5. 	Clemson         		N.C. State6. 	Duke            		Clemson7. 	N.C. State          		Duke

VIRGINIA SEEDED #3 IN ACC TOURNAMENT: Virginia earned the #3 seed in the upcoming 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Championship (November 12-16) on and will face the #6 seed Clemson Tigers on Wednesday, November 12th at 8:00 PM in Cary, N.C. at the SAS Soccer Complex. Virginia earned the #3 seed in the ACC Tournament after posting a 3-3-0 record in the ACC, while Clemson was awarded the #6 seed in the ACC Tournament after posting a 2-4-0 record in the conference. The Cavaliers defeated the Tigers by the score of 3-2 on October 11th in Charlottesville, Va. in the only meeting between the two teams this season.

The 2003 ACC Tournament will run from November 12-16. The quarterfinals round is scheduled for Wednesday, November 12th (3:00 PM, 5:30 PM and 8:00 PM), the semifinals round is scheduled for Friday, November 14th (5:30 PM and 8:00 PM) and the ACC Championship (Finals) is scheduled for Sunday, November 16th at 1:00 PM.

If UVa advances past Clemson in the quarterfinals round, the Cavaliers will face the winner of the #2 seed Wake Forest vs. #7 seed Duke on Friday, November 14th at 8:00 PM at the SAS Soccer Complex. If UVa were to also advance past the semifinals, it would play in the finals on Sunday, November 16th at 1:00 PM in a match that will be televised on Fox Sports Net South, the Sunshine Network and Comcast Sportsnet.

Virginia stands 25-9-3 (.716) all-time in the history of the ACC Championship. UVa has advanced to the ACC Finals 13 of the 15 times the tournament has been played and has won the ACC Tournament title on seven occasions. The Cavaliers claimed the ACC Tournament title in: 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. Virginia has competed in the ACC Finals the past four consecutive seasons (1999-2002) and seeks its fifth consecutive appearance.

ROAD WOES CONTINUE FOR CAVALIERS, ‘HOOS FINISH WINLESS ON THE ROAD: When Virginia dropped a 1-0 decision to Maryland on October 31st in College Park, Md., the Cavaliers dropped to 0-4-0 on the road for the 2003 season. The match with Maryland was UVa’s last regular season road match of the year. Virginia is 0-4-0 on the road after dropping decisions to Maryland (1-0), UNC Greensboro (1-0), Duke (3-1) and N.C. State (1-0). However, the Cavaliers are 1-1-0 on neutral sites this season. UVa defeated American (1-0) and lost to #1 UCLA (4-0) in two games played on a neutral field.

‘HOOS AGAINST THE TOP 25: When Virginia faces VCU on November 7th, it will be the sixth ranked team UVa has faced this season. Entering its match with VCU, UVa is 2-3-0 against teams ranked in the Top 25 this season. Here is a look at Virginia’s matches against the Top 25:

Date	Opponents	Score	Location11/7	#12 VCU		TBA	Charlottesville, Va.10/31	#3 Maryland	L, 1-0	College Park, Md.9/21	#4 North Carolina	W, 1-0	Charlottesville, Va.9/13	#2 Wake Forest	W, 2-1	Charlottesville, Va.9/7	#1 UCLA		L, 4-0	College Park, Md.8/31	#13 Saint Louis	L, 3-2 	Charlottesville, Va.

TO BE (RANKED), OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION: Through its 16 games this, Virginia has turned in an overall record of 8-8-0 heading into its match with VCU. UVa has been ranked in seven of its 16 matches. In the matches it has been ranked, Virginia is 2-5-0. However, in its matches it is not ranked, UVa is 6-2-0.

CAVALIERS HAVE WON SEVEN OF THEIR LAST 12 MATCHES: After a sluggish start that saw Virginia begin the 2003 season with a 1-3-0 record, the Cavaliers have won seven of their last 12 matches. Twice during that stretch, UVa put together a pair of three-game winning streaks.

GELNOVATCH TOPS 100 AND IS CLIMBING: UVa men’s soccer head soccer coach George Gelnovatch recorded his 100th career head coaching victory on August 30th, 2002 when Virginia defeated #25 Kentucky by the score of 3-2. Gelnovatch, in his eighth season as head coach at UVa, has recorded 122 wins as a head coach at Virginia with a career record of 122-43-12, including a mark of 29-13-6 in the ACC. By reaching the 100-win mark, it makes him only the second UVa men’s soccer coach to record the milestone. Former Virginia men’s soccer head coach Bruce Arena holds UVa’s all-time coaching victory mark with 295 (295-59-31, 74-21-11 ACC).

HOME SWEET HOME: Virginia has enjoyed much success playing in the friendly confines of Kl?ckner Stadium. One of the finest college soccer facilities in the country, Kl?ckner Stadium has been a very tough place for opponents to record a win. Since its opening in 1992, UVa has posted an eye-opening record of 143-20-7 at Kl?ckner Stadium. The Cavaliers finished the 2002 regular season a perfect 12-0-0 at home and finished the 2002 season 12-1-0. Virginia is 20-6 (.769) in NCAA Tournament games held at Kl?ckner Stadium during the past 11 seasons, outscoring its opposition 60-23 in those games.

VIRGINIA’S RANKINGS/RECORD: Virginia is not ranked in the Soccer America Top 25 poll and is not ranked in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 poll this week. UVa entered the 2003 season ranked in several national preseason polls. Virginia was ranked #14 in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25, #16 in the SoccerTimes Top 25, #19 in the Soccer America Top 25 and #21 in the College Soccer News’ Poll. Since the beginning of the 1984 season, the Cavaliers have been the top-ranked team in 71 Soccer America polls and 55 NSCAA polls (formerly the ISAA poll). Virginia was ranked in 183 consecutive NSCAA polls dating back to September of 1983 until the streak was snapped on 10/25/99, and was ranked in 177 consecutive Soccer America polls since September of 1984 until the streak ended on 10/4/99.