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Aug. 14, 2012

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team opened exhibition play Tuesday evening with a 1-0 victory over No. 15 St. John’s at Klöckner Stadium. The match was called in the 82nd minute because of lightning.

Virginia freshman Brian James (Sunrise, Fla.) scored the game’s lone goal in the 48th minute.

“It was a good result, but we have a lot to work on,” Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. “We had a lot of new faces out there, but given that we’ve only been at it for six days, I was pleased. Just about everyone on the team got a run, and the starters got about a 60-minute run.

“We played a very good opponent, the defending BIG EAST champions, who had a lot of players returning. We scheduled them for a reason. Coach (Dave) Masur does a great job, and they are very fit and organized.”

Virginia scored quickly in the second half to break the stalemate. After Kyler Sullivan (So., Stafford, Va.) made a run down the right flank and into the corner of the box, he lofted a cross to the center of the box, where James cranked a shot from 10 yards out. The ball clanged off the bottom of the crossbar and went straight down, just crossing the goal line.

Virginia held an 11-8 edge in shots and put three on goal, compared to one for St. John’s. The Red Storm took eight corner kicks, while UVa amassed five.

Spencer LaCivita (So., Raleigh, N.C.) played the first 59:32 in goal for UVa and made one save on a shot in the final five seconds of the first half. Matt Miscione (R-So., Ashburn, Va.) played the final 22:36. Rafael Diaz played the first half in goal for St. John’s; Jordan Stagmiller and Alex Naples split time in the second half.

Virginia plays its final exhibition at 7 p.m. Saturday when it entertains Liberty at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers start the regular season Aug. 24 when they battle Georgetown at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md.

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