No. 16 UVA Heads to No. 13 Louisville Saturday

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Sept. 23, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ââ’¬” The No. 16 Virginia men’s soccer team ventures to No. 13 Louisville Saturday for a 7 p.m. ACC match at Lynn Stadium in Louisville, Ky. It marks the Cavaliers’ first-ever visit to the Bluegrass State.

Live Video/Stats
The match will stream live on ACC Network Extra, which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. A link to live statistics can be located at VirginiaSports.com. In-game updates will be provided on the UVA Men’s Soccer Twitter account, @UVAMenSoccer.

Records
Virginia: 3-1-2 (ACC: 0-1-1/1 point)
Louisville: 6-1-1 (ACC: 2-0-0/6 points)

Virginia-Louisville Series
The sides have met just twice previously, both at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville. UofL scored a 2-1 win to open the 2013 season in a non-conference match. The Cavaliers recorded a wild 3-2 win on Oct. 2, 2015, in a monsoon in the teams’ first game as ACC foes. Paddy Foss scored a pair of second-half goals off set pieces, including a free kick from just outside midfield with 1:34 remaining for the tiebreaking goal.

Salandy-Defour Makes Stirring Return
Making his season debut last week after an offseason knee injury, senior forward Marcus Salandy-Defour made an immediate impact as UVA scored six goals against VCU and Clemson. He was named the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after scoring a pair of goals Saturday against Clemson as he recorded his first career brace. He scored just 81 seconds into the Clemson match, the earliest goal by a UVA player since Aug. 31, 2007.

Busy Stretch Commences
Virginia starts its busiest stretch of the season Saturday. Beginning with the Louisville contest, Virginia will play nine matches in the next 28 days. UVA has Tuesday non-conference matches slated for each of the next four weeks. Five of the nine games are against top-20 foes (Louisville, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Radford, Notre Dame).

Offense Clicks Against VCU/Clemson
Virginia scored six goals in its two matches last week, with three each against VCU and Clemson. The goals came from five different players. In six matches this season, UVA has 12 goals ââ’¬” already half of its total from 18 matches in the 2015 season. The Cavaliers rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a result for the first time since Nov. 15, 2013, in the ACC semifinals against Notre Dame.

Cavaliers Showcase Depth
Virginia has shown off its deep roster and a more aggressive attack this season, playing at least 17 men in each contest. UVA used 21 men in the season-opening win against Coastal Carolina and Wednesday against VCU.

Defenders Robin Afamefuna and Sergi Nus and goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell have not stepped off the field yet this year. With 13 newcomers to the program, UVA has utilized five different starting lineups in its six matches.

Gelnovatch Closes on UVA Wins Record
Now in his 21st season as the Cavaliers’ head coach and his 28th season on the coaching staff, UVA head coach George Gelnovatch has upped his record to 287-178-46. He needs eight wins to match Bruce Arena as the winningest coach in program history. His 21-year tenure is tied for the sixth longest in ACC men’s soccer history. Gelnovatch’s son Jake is a freshman goalkeeper for Louisville.

Noting Louisville
The Cardinals enter on a roll with wins in each of their last four matches, including a 1-0 home victory over then-No. 1 Notre Dame last Friday. Louisville won 1-0 at Saint Louis on Tuesday evening and has conceded an ACC-low two goals this season. Forward Mohamed Thiaw is tied for third in the league with five goals.

Up Next
Virginia returns home Tuesday (Sept. 27) for the first of three straight home matches, taking on Cornell in a 7 p.m. non-conference match. The Cavaliers play host No. 19 Virginia Tech next Friday (Sept. 30).