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Nov. 19, 2016

NCAA Tournament Second Round: Vermont at No. 12 Virginia
Date/Time Sun., Nov. 20, 2016 | 1 p.m.
Location Charlottesville, Va. | Klöckner Stadium
Multimedia ACC Network Extra (Live Video) |
Additional Info NCAA Brackets | Parking Map | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ââ’¬” The Virginia men’s soccer team kicks off NCAA tournament competition at 1 p.m. Sunday when it battles Vermont in a second-round match at Klöckner Stadium. Seeded No. 12, the Cavaliers are playing in their 36th straight NCAA tournament, the longest active streak in Division I men’s soccer.

Behind a hat trick from Brian Wright, Vermont defeated Rider, 4-1, Thursday night in first-round NCAA tournament action in Burlington, Vermont. The advancing team Sunday plays either Pacific or No. 5-seed Stanford next Sunday (Nov. 27).

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: 10-3-5
Vermont: 14-6-1

Tickets
Tickets for the NCAA tournament match are $9 for reserved seats, $7 for adults and $5 for youth/seniors and UVA/Vermont students. There will be no Faculty/Staff rate for this event.

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 Sunday. Gates will open at noon.

Parking
Free parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage. Because of the men’s basketball game at John Paul Jones Arena that afternoon, the JPJ, University Hall and McCue lots will be unavailable for soccer parking.

Virginia Extends NCAA Streak
Virginia is playing in its 36th-consecutive NCAA tournament, dating to 1981 ââ’¬” the longest streak in Division I men’s soccer history. UVA has an all-time record of 61-30-5 in the NCAA tournament (fourth-most NCAA tourney wins of any school).

UVA is 46-18-2 (.705) at home in NCAA tournament action. George Gelnovatch is 31-17-4 (.635) in 20 years in the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia is seeded for the 16th time in the last 23 years.

Virginia vs. Vermont, America East
Virginia and Vermont are meeting for the first time in men’s soccer. UVA has played two previous NCAA tournament matches against America East teams, with the last coming in the 2014 College Cup semifinals, a 1-0 win over UMBC. UVA is 6-0 all-time against current America East programs (5-0 vs. UMBC, 1-0 vs. Hartford).

UVA’s only other NCAA tournament match against an America East side was a memorable one ââ’¬” a 2-1, quadruple-overtime triumph over Hartford in the second round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament as part of UVA’s road to its second national championship.

How We Got Here
Virginia played its best soccer down the stretch to move into a position to earn a tournament seed. UVA was unbeaten in 10 straight matches ââ’¬” including wins over NCAA tournament seeds North Carolina and Notre Dame ââ’¬” before losing at Louisville, 1-0, on Nov. 6 in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. Five Cavaliers were named to the All-ACC Team ââ’¬” Pablo Aguilar, Jeff Caldwell and Edward Opoku (second team) and Jean-Christophe Koffi and Sergi Nus (third team).

Stingy Defense
Since allowing six goals on Sept. 24 at Louisville, Virginia has conceded only three times. Louisville snapped the Cavaliers’ 10-match unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. UVA had not been scored on in 552 total minutes prior to the UL score in the 55th minute.

Since losing 6-1 at Louisville on Sept. 24, UVA has outscored its foes 14-3 while going 7-1-3. UVA’s 10-match unbeaten streak from Sept. 27-Nov. 2 was its longest since an 11-game stretch in 2013.

Gelnovatch Nears UVA Wins Record
Now in his 21st year as head coach, George Gelnovatch is one win from the career wins record at Virginia. Gelnovatch owns 294 career wins, one fewer than his predecessor, Bruce Arena, who won 295 matches from 1978-95.

Gelnovatch has won at least 10 games in each of his 21 seasons and boasts a career record of 294-120-49. He played for Arena from 1983-86 and was an assistant coach on Arena’s staff from 1989-95.

Gelnovatch Continues NCAA-Record Streak
George Gelnovatch has not missed the NCAA tournament in any season during his tenure. Gelnovatch is the first head coach in Division I men’s soccer history to reach 21 straight NCAA tournaments.

In UVA’s streak of 36 straight NCAA tournament berths, Gelnovatch has been a part of 32 ââ’¬” 21 as head coach, seven as an assistant coach under Bruce Arena and four as a player.

Tough Schedule Hardens Hoos for Postseason
Year in and year out, Virginia plays one of the nation’s toughest schedules, and 2016 was no different. Of its 18 matches leading into the NCAA tournament, Virginia played 10 games against nine teams that reached the NCAA field of 48. Six of the games came against NCAA seeds (Clemson, Wake Forest, Louisville (2), North Carolina and Notre Dame).

Noting Vermont
Vermont earned an at-large bid into the tournament after finishing fourth in the America East Conference with a 4-3-0 league mark and compiling a No. 31 RPI. The Catamounts fell to top-seeded Albany, 2-0, in the conference semifinals. Vermont features a high-powered offense that ranks sixth nationally with 41 goals. The Catamounts are led by the standout tandem of Brian Wright and Bernard Yeboah. Wright ranks fifth nationally with 14 goals, while Yeboah is 18th with 11 scores. Wright also owns 11 assists (fourth nationally) and ranks second in the nation with 39 total points.

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