NCAA College Cup: Virginia and Maryland Square Off Once Again

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Dec. 11, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The long-standing rivalry between Virginia and Maryland reaches a new level Friday when the Cavaliers and Terrapins compete in the semifinals of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup. The sides will play at approximately 7:30 p.m. at PPL Park in Chester, Pa., following the conclusion of the New Mexico-Notre Dame match, which begins at 5 p.m.

The eighth-seeded Cavaliers (13-5-5) defeated Connecticut, 2-1, last Friday in Charlottesville to advance to the College Cup. The fifth-seeded Terrapins (16-3-5) went on the road to take down fourth-seeded California, 2-1, last Saturday.

The advancing teams from the semifinals will play for the NCAA championship at 3 p.m. Sunday.

More on the College Cup
Get more information about the NCAA College Cup through Virginia’s College Cup home page HERE

Broadcast Information
ESPNU will have the live broadcast of all three College Cup matches. The matches also will be streamed online via the WatchESPN app.

Live statistics (GameTracker) can be found on VirginiaSports.com, as well the Virginia Sports app, which is available free of charge through iTunes.

Virginia Reaches College Cup for 11th Time
Virginia has reached the NCAA College Cup for the 11th time in its 35 trips to the tournament, including three in the last seven years. UVa is 11-4-2 all-time in College Cup matches, including 7-3 in the semifinals.

UVa has won six national championships (1989, 1991-94, 2009). The Cavaliers were runners-up in 1997 and also competed in the 1983, 1995 and 2006 College Cups. Since 2003, every UVa player that has entered the program and stayed for four years has competed in at least one College Cup.

This also is UVa’s first men’s soccer match ever in Philadelphia.

UVa-UMD: One Last Meeting as ACC Rivals
Maryland owns a 39-29-9 edge in the programs’ all-time series, which dates to 1941. The teams’ ACC rivalry comes to an end this year as the Terps depart for the Big Ten in 2014.

Maryland is UVa’s third-most frequent opponent, behind only Duke (84 matches) and North Carolina (82).

The sides have squared off three times previously in the NCAA tournament, with UVa winning two; the Cavaliers went on to win their last two national title in the previous two instances (1994, 2009).

Virginia vs. Maryland in NCAA Tournament
Nov. 17, 1969 – @Maryland 5, Virginia 0 (1st Round)
Nov. 27, 1994 – @Virginia 2, Maryland 1 (2nd Round)
Dec. 4, 2009 – @Virginia 3, Maryland 0 (Quarterfinals)

Last Five Virginia-Maryland Meetings
Nov. 17, 2013 – Maryland 1, Virginia 0 (ACC Championship Game)
Oct. 11, 2013 – @Virginia 3, Maryland 3 (2OT)
Oct. 5, 2012 – @Maryland 1, Virginia 0
Oct. 7, 2011 – @ Virginia 2, Maryland 1
Nov. 12, 2010 – Maryland 2, Virginia 0 (ACC Tournament Semifinals)

Noting Maryland
Making its second straight College Cup appearance, Maryland boasts a high-powered offense that is led by one of the top scoring tandems in the nation, Patrick Mullins and Schillo Tshuma. The 2012 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, Mullins leads the ACC in both goals (16) and points (40). Tshuma is second on the team in goals (6).

Winners of 10 straight matches, Maryland has not lost since suffering a 4-3 home defeat to Wake Forest on Oct. 19. Since that match, the Terrapins have come together defensively and allowed just four scores. Freshman Zack Steffan has started every match in goal for Maryland.

Maryland opened the tournament with a 3-1 home win over Providence before knocking off 12th-seeded UC Irvine, 1-0. The Terrapins then scored a 2-1 win last Saturday at Cal, with the game winner coming in the 86th minute from Michael Sauers.

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 an all-time record of 56-28-4 in the NCAA tournament, including 10-3-2 in neutral-site matches.

Virginia vs. 2013 NCAA Field
The Cavaliers have played a rigorous schedule in 2013, with 12 of UVa’s 19 foes reaching the NCAA tournament. UVa is 9-5-2 against those teams, including four games with Notre Dame and Maryland.

The Cavaliers went 1-1-2 against Maryland and Notre Dame (0-1-1 vs. UM, 1-0-1 vs. ND).

ACC teams are 11-3 in the 2013 tournament (most wins of any conference); the last time a conference sent three teams to the College Cup was the ACC in 2009, with UVa winning the championship in PKs against Akron.

Noting Virginia in 2013 NCAA Tournament
Virginia has out-scored its opponents 7-2 in the NCAA tournament, with six different players scoring. Ryan Zinkhan has scored in each of the last two games. Seventeen Cavaliers have seen playing time.

UVa has made the most of its opportunities. The Cavaliers have taken 42 shots, but over half (22) have been on goal.

The Cavaliers have scored at least two goals in each of their three tournament matches. Virginia opened the tournament with a 2-0 win in the second round over St. John’s. The Cavaliers played with 10 men for 89 minutes in the third round against ninth-seeded Marquette but still prevailed, 3-1. In the quarterfinals UVa topped UConn, 2-1.

Last Time Out: Virginia 2, Connecticut 1
Virginia picked up goals from Ryan Zinkhan (12′) and Jordan Allen (63′) in a 2-1 NCAA quarterfinal win over Connecticut last Friday in cold, rainy conditions at Klöckner Stadium.

Virginia out-shot UConn 15-11 and put 10 shots on goal to three for the Huskies. Unseeded in the tournament but ranked as high as sixth nationally, UConn had its 17-match unbeaten streak snapped.