Virginia Plays St. John's Sunday in NCAA Second-Round Match

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Nov. 23, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s soccer team begins NCAA tournament play at 1 p.m. Sunday when it entertains St. John’s in a second-round contest at Klöckner Stadium. The eighth-seeded Cavaliers (10-5-5) earned a first-round bye, while St. John’s (11-6-2) won 2-1 in overtime at Delaware on Thursday evening to advance to the second round.

Virginia is making its 33rd-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance – the longest current streak in Division I soccer.

Tickets
Tickets are $9 for reserved seats, $7 for adult general admission and $5 for youth/student/senior citizen general admission. Fans can order tickets online at VirginiaSports.com and by phone through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets are also available at the Klöckner Stadium box office beginning at noon. Gates will open at noon.

Parking
Parking is $5 and will be available in the John Paul Jones Arena, University Hall and McCue Center lots. Free parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage.

Big Day of Soccer at Klöckner
A big day of soccer is on tap Sunday with a doubleheader of NCAA tournament play at Klöckner Stadium. While the men play at 1 p.m., the top-seeded UVa women’s team also will take the field with a third-round contest against Wake Forest at 5 p.m. Separate tickets will be required for both the men’s and women’s games on Sunday.

Virginia Extends Streak in NCAA Soccer Championship
Virginia is playing in its 33nd-consecutive NCAA tournament, dating to 1981 – the longest active streak in Division I soccer. UVa has played host to at least one game in the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons and in 34 of the program’s 35 years in the NCAA field.

The Cavaliers are seeded for the first time since 2009, when they were No. 2.

Virginia has an all-time record of 53-28-4 in the NCAA tournament, including 41-18-2 at home. UVa has won six national championships (1989, 1991-94, 2009).

Virginia vs. 2013 NCAA Field
The Cavaliers have played a tough schedule in 2013, with 10 of UVa’s 17 foes reaching the NCAA tournament. UVa was 6-5-2 against those teams. All three of Virginia’s foes last week in the ACC tournament are seeded in the NCAA field (No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 5 Maryland, No. 14 Wake Forest).

Virginia-St. John’s Series
Virginia holds a 5-1 edge in its series with St. John’s, with all six games taking place in Charlottesville, including the Cavaliers’ 2-0 win on Sept. 2. St. John’s lone win over UVa came in 2008.

Noting St. John’s
The Red Storm advanced to the second round on Jordan Rouse’s golden goal Thursday at Delaware. Sean Sepe leads the team with six goals, while Jimmy Mulligan has four scores. St. John’s boasts one of the nation’s best defenses and has surrendered just 15 goals this year; prior to a Delaware first-half goal, the Red Storm had not allowed a goal in four straight matches.

Winners of the 1996 NCAA National Championship and four-time College Cup participants (2008, 2003, 2001, 1996), St. John’s is 26-18-1 (.589) all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

Several Cavaliers Boast Tournament Experience
While the Virginia roster still is relatively young, several Cavaliers have earned experience in NCAA tournament play. Thirteen current members of the team has played in the NCAA tournament, including seven of UVa’s probable starters for Sunday.

Kyler Sullivan and Ryan Zinkhan each have played in three tournament games while at UVa. Goalkeeper Jeff Gal started four tournament games last year while at Creighton, including the Bluejays’ College Cup match against Indiana.

Last Meeting: Virginia 2, St. John’s 0 (Sept. 2)
Virginia earned its first win of 2013, 2-0, on Sept. 2 over then-No. 19 St. John’s. Freshman Jordan Allen had a big night in just his second college game, recording a goal as well as an assist. He also forced a penalty kick after drawing a foul in the box early in the second half. Brian James picked up the Cavaliers’ first goal of the evening on an assist from Allen.

Cavaliers Look to Continue Strong Play
Virginia is 9-2-5 in its last 16 matches heading into NCAA tournament play. The Cavaliers reached the ACC championship game after winning at No. 9 Wake Forest in overtime and advancing past No. 1 Notre Dame on penalty kicks before falling on an 88th-minute own goal in a 1-0 defeat to No. 4 Maryland in the title game.

Cavaliers Line All-Conference and Tournament Teams
Four Cavaliers were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team – Calle Brown, Eric Bird, Marcus Salandy-Defour and Todd Wharton. Bird also was a second-team All-ACC selection. He was joined on the second team by Darius Madison, while Jordan Allen was a third-team pick and also made the all-freshman team.

Up Next
The winner of the Virginia-St. John’s match will advance to the third round next Sunday (Dec. 1) and take on the victor of the match between ninth-seeded Marquette and Akron.