No. 4 UVa Men's Soccer Hosts Alabama A&M Saturday Night

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The fourth-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team continues its non-conference schedule with a Saturday night (Oct. 9) match against Alabama A&M at Klöckner Stadium.

The Cavaliers (7-2-1) are ranked No. 4 in the Oct. 5 Soccer America poll and No. 7 in the Oct. 5 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) top 25. In Atlantic Coast Conference play, UVa has a 1-2-1 record in 2010.

Against non-conference opponents, Virginia has an 18-match unbeaten streak. Throughout its 2009 NCAA Championship season, UVa did not lose to a non-conference opponent (12 games) and has not been beaten in 2010 by a non-ACC foe (six games). The last Virginia loss to a non-conference opponent was on Nov. 25, 2008 – a 2-0 setback to No. 22 Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore Will Bates (Chester, Va.) leads the team with four goals and an assist, but the balanced Cavalier attack also includes five other players with at least two goals. Three players – Brian Span (Somers, N.Y.), Brian Ownby (Glen Allen, Va.) and Jimmy Simpson (Warrenton, Va.) have scored three goals apiece.

Defensively for Virginia, goalkeeper Diego Restrepo (West Palm Beach, Fla.) has posted five shutouts in 10 starts and has a goals-against average of 0.59.

Virginia is outscoring its opponents in 2010, 16-5.

Alabama A&M (0-8) is coming off of a 3-2 road loss at Xavier on Oct. 2. Abraham Kassaye and Andrew Nkurunungi have each scored two goals for the Bulldogs. Alabama A&M announced at the beginning of the season that this would be the last season for men’s soccer. The Bulldogs conclude their season on Oct. 11 at Virginia Tech.

Virginia leads the all-time series with Alabama A&M, 2-0. The last meeting was during the 2003 regular season and resulted in a 4-1 UVa victory in Charlottesville.

Up next, Virginia hosts No. 25 James Madison on Tuesday, Oct. 12. Kick-off at Klöckner Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.