Virginia Battles North Carolina Friday in ACC Semifinals
Story Links
Nov. 8, 2012
| ACC Semifinals: No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 2 North Carolina | |
| Date/Time | Fri., Nov. 9, 2012 | 5:30 p.m. |
| Location | Germantown, Md. | Maryland SoccerPlex |
| Multimedia | ESPN3 Webcast | GameTracker |
| Additional Information | Championship Central | Twitter – #ACCMSoccer | Facebook | PDF Game Notes |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team continues ACC tournament play at 5:30 p.m. Friday when it takes on No. 3 North Carolina in the ACC semifinals. The Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md., is the site for the championship. The Cavaliers are the No. 6 seed, while the Tar Heels are the No. 2 seed.
Top-seeded Maryland and fourth-seeded Clemson play in the second semifinal at 8 p.m. The semifinal winners will play for the championship at noon Sunday on ESPNU.
Live Coverage
ESPN3 will have the live online broadcast. Live statistics also can be found at VirginiaSports.com. In-game updates are available through the UVa men’s soccer Twitter account (@UVAMenSoccer).
Records
Virginia: 9-6-3 (ACC: 3-4-1)
North Carolina: 15-2-1 (ACC: 6-1-1)
Virginia in the ACC Soccer Championship
Virginia has an all-time record of 37-14-8 at the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship, including a 5-3 mark against North Carolina. UVa has won a league-best 10 tournament titles (1988, 1991-95, 1997, 2003-04, 2009) – four with George Gelnovatch at the helm of the program.
The Cavaliers have reached the semifinals each of the last five years and in 24 of the tournament’s 26 years.
Last Meeting (Sept. 21): UNC 1, UVa 0
UNC topped UVa, 1-0, Sept. 21 in Chapel Hill on a 46th-minute goal. The Tar Heels struck quickly in the second half when Danny Garcia found Andy Craven streaking down the right flank. Craven then beat UVa goalkeeper Spencer LaCivita (So., Raleigh, N.C.) through the wickets from five yards out for the score.
UVa’s offense pressed forward for most of the second half as the Cavaliers controlled possession and stayed on the UNC side of the field. The Cavaliers out-shot UNC 6-2 in the second half, while UNC did not attempt a shot in the final 25 minutes. UVa also out-shot the Tar Heels 10-6 for the game.
Virginia-North Carolina Series
North Carolina owns a 38-34-7 advantage in the all-time series with Virginia, which dates to 1946. Eight of the last nine meetings have been decided by a single goal. UNC has won its last five matches with Virginia – all via shutouts. UVa’s last goal against UNC came on Oct. 3, 2008 in the Cavaliers’ 1-0 win in Chapel Hill.
Last Time Out: UVa Advances Past Wake Forest on PKs
After a 2-2 draw against Wake Forest, Virginia advanced to the semifinals after winning a penalty-kick shootout, 5-3, Tuesday in Winston-Salem. The Cavaliers twice rallied from a goal down to force overtime and the shootout. Zach Carroll (32nd minute) and Eric Bird (55th minute) each scored for UVa.
UVa went 5-for-5 on PKs; Shane Cooke converted on the clinching kick right after Wake missed its first PK. The Cavaliers took a season-high 22 shots (Wake also took 22 shots) as well as eight corners.
Four Cavaliers Named to All-ACC Teams
Will Bates (Sr., Chester, Va.) was named to the All-ACC First Team for the second straight year on Thursday. He also was a second-team and all-freshman honoree in 2009.
Darius Madison (Philadelphia, Pa.), Marcus Salandy-Defour (Kensington, Md.) and Todd Wharton (Glen Allen, Va.) each were named to the All-ACC Freshman Team. UVa and Wake Forest each had the most All-Freshman honorees.
UVa Bullet Points
• Virginia opened the 2011 and 2012 seasons at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
• UVa has played four straight OT games and is 3-2-3 in extra time this year.
• The Cavaliers are 2-3-2 away from Charlottesville this year.
• Virginia enters the weekend with a five-match unbeaten streak (3-0-2), the longest current streak in the league.
• This is UVa’s longest unbeaten streak since a five-game stretch from Oct. 5-22, 2010 (last 6+ streak was 16 to end 2009 national championship season).
• UVa has clinched a .500 or better record for the 32nd consecutive season.
• Against Wake, UVa rallied from a pair of deficits in the same game for the first time since Sept. 24, 2005 against BC (4-3 win).
• Fourteen of Virginia’s 18 matches have been decided by one goal or a tie.
Scouting North Carolina
The reigning national champions have won four straight matches since suffering an OT loss at then-No. 1 Maryland on Oct. 19. Mikey Lopez and Boyd Okwuonu each were named First-Team All-ACC, while Andy Craven, Danny Garcia, and Scott Goodwin were second-team selections. Garcia also was named the ACC Freshman of the Year.