No. 22 Virginia Faces Wake Forest Friday in Regular-Season Home Finale

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Oct. 23, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 22 Virginia men’s soccer team wraps up its home schedule for the 2014 regular season at 6:30 p.m. Friday when Wake Forest comes to Klöckner Stadium. Prior to the match, Virginia will honor nine fourth-years during Senior Night festivities.

Broadcast Information
The ACC’s Regional Sports Networks will televise the game, with Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic providing the coverage in the Charlottesville area. The match also will be streamed online via ESPN3 (subject to blackout). A link to live stats is available on VirginiaSports.com.

Records
Virginia: 9-4-1 (ACC: 3-2-1/10 points)
Wake Forest: 8-6-0 (ACC: 3-3-0/9 points)

In the Polls
Virginia is No. 22 in the NSCAA poll, No. 21 in the Soccer America rankings and No. 13 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. Wake Forest is not ranked this week.

Tournament Positioning at Stake
The ACC is down to its final two weekends of league play. Virginia currently holds sixth place in the overall ACC standings with 10 points, but is just two points out of second place. With nine points in league play, Wake Forest is one point behind Virginia in the overall standings.

The top four teams in the final standings will serve as host sites in the ACC Quarterfinals on Nov. 9 (the division champions earn the top two seeds). The teams that finish in seventh through 10th place will play Nov. 5 in the tournament’s first round (10 seed at 7 seed, 9 seed at 8 seed).

Virginia-Wake Forest Series
Virginia is 36-10-7 all-time against Wake Forest. Eleven of the last 12 meetings have been determined by one goal or a draw.

The Demon Deacons have won the last four regular-season meetings; the Cavaliers’ last regular-season win against Wake came on Sept. 18, 2009, in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest also has won its last four regular-season matches at Klöckner Stadium. UVa has not defeated Wake in a regular-season home match since a 2-1 win on Sept. 13, 2003.

Conversely, UVa has bounced Wake from each of the last six ACC tournaments (four wins, two draws), including a 1-0 win in OT last season in Winston-Salem on Todd Wharton’s penalty kick golden goal.

Cavaliers Hold Senior Night Ceremonies
Virginia will hold Senior Night ceremonies prior to the match Friday. UVa will honor nine fourth-years: Eric Bird, Matt Brown, Will Hare, Spencer LaCivita, Kyle McCord, Matt Mills, Grant Silvester, Kyler Sullivan and Ryan Zinkhan. The senior trio of Bird, Sullivan and Zinkhan have combined to make 179 career starts.

Virginia Stands No. 12 in RPI
UVa stands at No. 12 in the NCAA’s latest RPI figures. Three Cavalier opponents rank in the top 14 – Notre Dame (5), Syracuse (7), and Davidson (14). Nine of Virginia’s 14 foes to date are among the top 50. UVa’s last three regular-season matches are against Wake Forest (49 RPI) and North Carolina (18).

Holding Serve at Home
Virginia has thrived on its home pitch at Klöckner Stadium and is 24-6-4 at home since 2012. UVa is 6-1-1 this year at home and owns a 53-17-6 home record since 2009 when the Cavaliers captured the program’s sixth national championship.

Noting Wake Forest
Wake Forest is 8-6-0 this season and 3-3-0 in ACC play. Junior forward Michael Gamble leads the ACC this season with 21 points, coming on six goals and nine assists. Wake Forest leads the ACC in scoring with 33 goals, but is 11th in goals allowed with 22.

Up Next
Virginia concludes the regular season next Saturday (Nov. 1) with a 7 p.m. match at No. 9 North Carolina. ESPN3 will provide the online broadcast.