No. 23 Virginia Entertains No. 5 Maryland Friday Evening

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Oct. 10, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 23rd-ranked Virginia men’s soccer team returns home Friday for a 7 p.m. match with No. 5 Maryland at Klöckner Stadium. Both teams have been playing well of late, with each carrying a seven-game unbeaten streak into Friday.

Records
No. 23 Virginia: 6-3-2 (ACC: 2-2-2/8 points)
No. 5 Maryland: 5-2-4 (ACC: 4-0-2/14 points)

Broadcast Information
The ACC’s Regional Sports Networks will have the live television broadcast, including CSN Mid-Atlantic in the Virginia area. A full listing of networks carrying the game: http://theacc.co/MSOC101113RSN

The broadcast also will be streamed online via ESPN3 (subject to blackout). Live statistics (GameTracker) can be found on VirginiaSports.com, as well the new Virginia Sports app, which is available free of charge through iTunes.

Parking
Free parking is available in the University Hall and McCue lots as well as the John Paul Jones Arena garage and Emmet/Ivy garage. Limited fan parking will be available in the JPJ surface lot.

Virginia-Maryland Series
Maryland owns a 39-29-8 edge in the programs’ all-time series, which dates to 1941. UM is UVa’s third-most frequent opponent, behind only Duke (84 matches) and UNC (80).

The teams met seven times in the last four seasons, including the Cavaliers’ 1-0 loss to the then-No. 1 Terrapins last year. UVa upset the then-second ranked Terps, 2-1, in 2011 in Maryland’s last visit to Charlottesville. The Cavaliers are 5-6-1 in their last 12 matches against Maryland.

Last Meeting: Maryland 1, Virginia 0
Virginia dropped a 1-0 decision to top-ranked Maryland on Oct. 5, 2012, in College Park. UVa goalkeeper Spencer LaCivita was strong in goal and tied a season best with six saves, including four in the second half, to keep the Cavaliers close.

Maryland’s Patrick Mullins scored the match’s lone goal in the 26th minute. The Terps out-shot Virginia, 17-4, and took four corner kicks, compared to two for the Cavaliers.

Last Time Out: Virginia 0, Duke 0 (2OT)
Virginia played Duke to a scoreless draw Tuesday in Durham, N.C., as the Cavaliers extended their unbeaten streak to seven matches. UVa out-shot the Blue Devils 22-9 and put a season-high 11 shots on goal.

The Cavaliers recorded their sixth clean sheet of the year, including their fourth in the last five matches. Virginia out-shot the Blue Devils 19-5 in the second half and overtime periods, including an 8-1 edge in the 20 minutes of overtime. UVa put 11 shots on goal to three for Duke.

Offense Ranks Among Top 10 Nationally
Virginia ranks ninth nationally and tops in the ACC in scoring offense with 2.4 goals per game (as of Monday rankings). With 24 goals this year, UVa is tied for sixth nationally.

Prior to Tuesday at Duke, UVa had scored at least two goals in each of its last seven matches, with 21 goals in that span (three goals per game). This is the first time UVa has scored two or more goals in seven straight games since Sept. 28-Oct. 26, 2002, when the Cavaliers scored two or more goals in eight straight matches.

Virginia Stands 12th in NCAA RPI
Virginia is ranked No. 12 in the latest NCAA RPI report for the 2013 season. That is second highest among ACC schools (Notre Dame, 5). The Cavaliers’ first nine opponents this season all are ranked among the top 55 in the RPI. Fourteen of UVa’s 17 regular-season foes are amongst the top 65, including nine in the top 40.

The Grind Continues
Virginia is in the midst of its busiest and most demanding portion of the 2013 schedule. UVa is playing its ninth match in 29 days on Friday. UVa will get a week off prior to its next match on Oct. 18 at Virginia Tech; it marks the Cavaliers’ first full week without a match since the week prior to the Sept. 13 game at Wake Forest.

Plenty of Offensive Threats
Virginia has scored 24 goals in 11 games this season. Twelve different players have scored. UVa had 11 different goal scorers during the entire 2012 season. Eric Bird leads the Cavaliers with five goals on the year and is tied with Jordan Allen and Marcus Salandy-Defour with a team-best three assists.

Scouting Maryland
Unbeaten in its last seven matches, Maryland owns a high-powered offense which has tallied 23 goals this year. Patrick Mullins leads the team with six goals, while Schillo Tshuma and Jake Pace each boast five goals. After giving up 12 goals in their first five games, the Terrapins have picked it up on defense and allowed five scores in the past six contests.

Up Next
Virginia is on the road for its next two matches. The Cavaliers take a week off from competition before traveling to Virginia Tech next Friday (Oct. 18) for a 7 p.m. match. UVa travels to Notre Dame on Oct. 26 before returning home Oct. 29 to take on UNC Greensboro.