Virginia Travels to Wake Forest Tuesday for ACC Quarterfinals

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Nov. 11, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 12 Virginia men’s soccer team begins postseason play at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it travels to No. 13 Wake Forest in the quarterfinals of the 2013 ACC Championship at Spry Stadium. The Demon Deacons are the No. 3 seed in the field, while Virginia is seeded sixth.

Records
Virginia: 9-4-4 (ACC: 4-3-4)
Wake Forest: 9-4-5 (ACC: 6-1-4)

Broadcast Information
The game will be streamed online by Wake Forest; a link to the free broadcast will be available on VirginiaSports. Live statistics (GameTracker) will be located on VirginiaSports.com, as well as the new Virginia Sports app, which is available free of charge through iTunes.

Virginia in the ACC Soccer Championship
Virginia has an all-time record of 37-14-9 in the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship. UVa has won 10 tournament titles (1988, 1991-95, 1997, 2003-04, 2009).

Virginia is 3-1-2 all-time in true road ACC tournament matches.

The Cavaliers played to a pair of draws last year in the tournament; UVa advanced in a PK shootout in the quarterfinals at Wake Forest before UNC eliminated the Cavaliers via penalties in the semis.

Hoos, Deacs Familiar Foes in ACC Tournament
Virginia and Wake Forest are meeting in the ACC tournament for the sixth straight season; UVa has eliminated the Demon Deacons in each of the previous five instances.

Virginia won in the 2008 semis (3-2), 2010 quarters (1-0) and 2011 quarters (4-3, 2OT) and advanced via penalty kicks in the 2009 semis (following scoreless draw) and last year in the quarters (2-2). UVa is unbeaten against Wake Forest in the ACC tournament, holding a 12-0-4 record.

Virginia-Wake Forest Series
Virginia holds a 35-10-7 advantage in its series with Wake Forest. Wake notched a 3-2 win over the Cavaliers on Sept. 13 at Spry Stadium; the Demon Deacons built a 3-0 lead before UVa scored two goals in the final seven minutes. The teams have met at least two times in each of the last six seasons, including three times in 2009.

Last Five Meetings
9/13/13 – @Wake Forest 3, Virginia 2
11/6/12 – Virginia 2, @Wake 2 (2OT) – ACC Quarters (UVa advances on PKs)
10/12/12 – Wake Forest 4, @Virginia 1
11/8/11 – @Virginia 4, Wake Forest 3 (2OT) – ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
10/14/11 – @Wake Forest 4, Virginia 3

Last Meeting: Wake 3, UVa 2
After nearly rallying from a three-goal deficit in the final seven minutes, Virginia dropped a 3-2 decision to Wake Forest on Sept. 13 at Spry Stadium. Eric Bird and Bryan Lima each scored for the Cavaliers.

UVa had a shot at the equalizer with 25 seconds remaining, but a short header from Jordan Allen was corralled by Wake Forest goalkeeper Alec Ferrell, and the Demon Deacons ran out the clock from there. Bird finished with a goal and an assist to highlight the Cavaliers’ offensive output.

The Cavaliers out-shot Wake 20-14 overall, including 12-4 in the second half. UVa put nine shots on goal to five for the Demon Deacons.

Last Time Out: Virginia Tops BC in OT, 1-0
Brian James scored the game-winning goal with 2:53 remaining in overtime to propel Virginia to a 1-0 win over Boston College last Friday at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia held an 11-7 edge in shots, including a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal.

In his first career start and on his Senior Night, UVa goalkeeper Calle Brown made four saves in earning the clean sheet.

After picking up several excellent scoring chances in overtime, Virginia cashed in off of a free kick in the 98th minute. Patrick Foss lofted the kick from 35 yards into the box, where Kevin McBride slightly deflected the ball, and James put a foot on it from just outside the six-yard box, scoring just inside the near post.

Noting Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons are coming off a 4-1 home win over Syracuse last Friday. Luca Gimenez and Sean Okoli spearhead a solid Wake Forest offense with eight goals apiece; Wake has scored 35 goals, which ranks second in the ACC.

Defensively Wake Forest has allowed 20 goals this year (1.11 per game). Andrew Harris and Alec Farrell have split time in goal, as the Demon Deacons have recorded five shutouts on the year.

Tough Schedules on Both Sides
Virginia and Wake Forest have played two of the toughest schedules nationally. UVa’s schedule ranks third toughest of all Division I sides, while Wake’s stands fourth. The Cavaliers’ schedule ranks as the toughest among all ACC schools this year.

Virginia Moves to 13th in NCAA RPI
Following its win against Boston College, Virginia moved up one spot to No. 13 in the latest NCAA RPI report for the 2013 season. Thirteen of UVa’s 17 regular-season foes are among the top 60, including 10 in the top 40. Wake Forest is No. 14 in this RPI this week.

Up Next
The winner advances to the ACC semifinals Friday against the Notre Dame-Duke winner. The semifinals and finals will be held at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md.